Memoirs of the Future Pirate King
by Sherlock D Holmes
Summary: Let me just cut straight to the divergences. Luffy didn't eat the Gum Gum fruit. Luffy isn't completely brainless. Shanks didn't lose his arm. Watch as these three simple modifiers can spin the canon so crazily, it's barely even recognizable. As NGP author would have it: 'Screw the plot and let the chips fall where they may'.
1. Prologue

Prologue: An ambition

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In a quiet corner of a quiet sea, a quiet village known by its inhabitants as the Windmill village was experiencing a mostly quiet day. The key word of the sentence? Mostly. Despite the quiet nature of the Windmill village, cemented by how its biggest source of noise on average were its windmills, a pirate crew hailing from treacherous seas had called this particular village its base for reasons widely unknown. However, despite the presence of pirates in this quaint village, the current source of noise was actually a young boy pushing eight.

Currently, the boy stood on the figurehead of the Red-Haired pirate's flagship, the Red King. Although seemingly harmless, he had the conviction which few had in his age. His conviction was to become a pirate and to join the crew of the infamous Red Hair Shanks. Despite the fact that a child sought to become a pirate, the most questionable aspect of that situation was his method and how he planned to join the crew. Armed with a knife, he was ready to stab himself to prove how tough he was.

"Oi Luffy! What're ya doin' up there?! Geddown!" yelled captain Shanks, teasingly..

"Bite me! I'll prove that I'm a man, and then you'll take me with you!" replied Luffy harshly, riled up by the adrenaline. Makino had always disliked giving Luffy too much juice, and sugar was known to affect him.

"What the hell are you plannin' on doin' with the knife?" asked Shanks, laughing all the while. This only aggravated Luffy.

"You'll see!" he shouted, holding the blade against his face. As he pulled the knife back, the entire crew was gasping. They never thought that Luffy would injure himself. Right before he struck his cheek, though, he stopped himself.

'Why the heck am I doing this?' he thought. This was new. He never really did think about his actions and how it would affect others. He was always brash and did what he wanted, when he wanted, not caring for any consequence. Luffy simply dropped the knife, now bawling his eyes out. With teary eyes, he didn't see what steps he was talking, so he fell down from the figurehead, and cut his face on the knife that he dropped on the ground as he fell. The cut was just beneath his eye and had almost blinded him. The entire crew rushed to him, assessing his physical state.

"Luffy! What the hell was that?!" shouted Shanks in disbelief. He was one of the first people that rushed to Luffy. Seeing that he was alright, he regained his cool and his light-hearted spirit.

"Gahahahahaha!" he laughed, and later on, his entire crew joined the cacophony of all sorts of laughter and shouts. Luffy began sobbing once again.

'I couldn't even prove a point!' he thought. 'Or... was there even a point to prove? I was just gonna hurt myself, but laugh it off so they'd think I was tough, right?' he thought to himself, amidst the howls.

'No, I was just hurting myself needlessly. They would never have brought me along from the beginning. I'm too young, and too weak,' thought Luffy. He dried his eyes with his wrist now. 'Weak?! I'm not weak!' he puffed his chest at the self-deprecating thought before rationality struck him once again. Yes, yes I am. I'm only 7 and he's twenty years my elder, and he's thrice my height. I am weak,' he concluded. The thought was depressing but sobering. Rationality had never visited him in his short lifespan of seven years, so its arrival was very much appreciated, despite how harsh the criticism it came with was.

After the doctor stitched his face up in record speed, he stood up slowly, eyes dry and more determined than ever.

"I get it," he muttered. "I'm weak… I won't be for long, though. One day, I'll surpass you!" he yelled. The laughing stopped, replaced by a solemn moment of silence in acknowledgment of Luffy's pledge. Shanks broke the silence eventually.

"Luffy has become a man! After we're done with work, DRINKS ARE ON ME!" he shouted, gaining everyone's attention, and triggering another bout of howls and shouting. The men eventually resumed their work while Luffy watched them. After a while, when the last crate was loaded, the crew stormed into the tavern in their usual merry manner. Makino, the tavern proprietor, sighed smilingly at their happiness. Shanks slammed a wad of cash on the bar counter.

"Bring me all yer crates!" he yelled, increasing the hype within his crew. "Oh, and slip in some milk for lil old Luffy over there, huh?" he also ordered, only in a lower voice such that Luffy wouldn't hear.

"Comin' right up," she replied, as the entire bar was in high spirits now that everyone had something to drink. The merriment continued for quite a while before it got interrupted by someone kicking in the door, breaking it in the process. In came a rather greasy-looking bandit leader, followed by mountain bandits of all shapes and sizes. Luffy was about to yell at them for breaking Makino's door, but held his tongue, knowing that these guys probably meant trouble.

The man approached the counter, both hands in the pockets of his ragged coat.

"I'll make it quick. My men are thirsty and they want some booze. I need all yer stuff right now," he leered at the young bartender. Makino rubbed the back of her head with an apologetic smile.

"Uhm, sorry, we're totally dry," she told him.

"Then what the hell are these guys drinking? Piss?"

"They bought all of the alcohol we had stocked," explained Makino.

Shanks, who was sitting closely to the bartender, interjected.

"What's that? We drank all the booze? Oh, no, that's not good!" Shanks reached for a bottle and handed it to the bandit. "Here, take this one. It's unopened," Shanks smiled. He normally loved when people joined the fun and he was eager to make friends with this guy. The bandit leader didn't take kindly to what he said, though. With a swift motion, he slammed the back of his fist into the bottle, spilling the contents all over Shanks. The bandit cursed under his breath before going to exit the building.

Makino quickly rushed to clean it up, but Shanks was already picking up the fragments of the broken bottle.

"What a mess! Makino, can I have a mop?" he asked.

"I see you like cleanin', huh? Lemme give ya something more to clean," said the bandit leader. Upon hearing what Shanks had said, the bandit stopped and drew his saber before swiping it over the counter, breaking more glass which shattered and landed on the floor,

Shanks remained speechless as the mountain bandit sneered at the prone pirate. "I didn't know pirates were such pushovers. Almost makes me feel bad picking on yer lot," grinned the bandit leader. Luffy had had enough. He stood up and let the bandits have a piece of his mind.

"That's no way to treat Shanks! He's the greatest pirate ever!" shouted the young boy. The bandit leader's smile faded away. He turned around to meet the boy, who was standing on a table, eye to eye. The temperature had seemingly dropped as Luffy glared daggers at the mountain bandit.

"Eh? Kid, I could kill ya ten times over in the blink of an eye. I'll forgive you this one time if you apologize," he spat, intensifying his hold on his saber handle. Luffy was as furious as a seven-year-old could be in his place. At this point, Shanks, who was still soaking wet on the floor, felt the need to interject.

"Luffy, apologize to the man," he said, in a hushed voice. The bandit leader scoffed at his comment, but agreed with it nonetheless.

"Ya heard the pirate, runt. Apologize. Now," he growled. Luffy gulped before he began his 'apology'.

"I apologize," he began. "That your mother gave birth to such a jerk!" he concluded, causing the bandit leader's grin to disappear completely. His veins began gaining prominence in his forehead. He drew his sword completely now, approaching Luffy.

"Die!" he yelled. He swung the sword downwards. Luffy was directly in the path of the sword. Right before he was struck, he began regretting ever opening his mouth. Before the bandit leader even made contact with Luffy, Shanks had jumped right in front of him, using his flagon to block the sword strike. Sparks flew upon contact with the metallic flagon, causing the bandit to recoil.

The bandit leader began chuckling lightly.

"Hehehe, you wanna go, friend?" asked the bandit leader. "I was gonna teach 'im not ta mess with me, Higuma of the mountain, worth eight million berries!" he shouted. Shanks was facing the floor, but now that he was provoked, he needed to get rid of this guy. Slowly raising his head, he locked eyes with Higuma. In an intense staredown, Higuma suddenly began losing heart. Chills ran rampantly through his body as though he had just witnessed a monster. He lost hold of the saber and fell backward, unable to stand upright. He began crawling backward, away from the human demon that he could not avert his eyes from. His band of mountain bandits had already been knocked out senselessly from the wave of ill-intent.

"You… tried hurting my friend… die," mumbled Shanks. Without any orders, two of Shanks' crewmembers carried Higuma out of the tavern. With a single heave, they literally threw him out, making him land on the hard dirt road. Shanks was also walking out of the tavern. Ben Beckman, Shanks' trusted First Mate, handed him a flintlock. Shanks took it and pointed the gun at the prone mountain bandit, who was shivering vigorously.

"No… no, please, please, please, please, please!" pleaded Higuma. His wishes fell on deaf ears, however. Shanks held the gun up for a moment that seemed like an eternity for both parties. Eventually, Shanks pulled the trigger, and in an instant, Higuma's brain matter splattered on the dirt road, the pink from his brain was quickly covered in blood, giving it a red color. Higuma's facial expression was forever locked into place due to rigor mortis, and it showed the horrified face of a man that knew his death was upon him, regretting every second he wasted in his life.

Shanks turned his back at the corpse and motioned Beckman to retrieve his flintlock. Luffy looked around himself. Many bandits were lying unconscious on the floor, not moving. Shanks walked into the tavern and dug some money from his pocket. He slammed the money on Makino's counter before apologizing for the roughness.

"Sorry for the blood... and the door," added Shanks. Makino was all but paralyzed with fear. She gave Shanks a once-over before reaching for the money. Luffy's curiosity was only inhibited by his own shock, but he had managed to fight back, gulping before asking Shanks what had happened.

"Shanks... what...?" he gestured around the room, pointing at the unconscious bandits. Luffy already knew what had happened to Higuma, and he hadn't objected to it at all. After all, pirates killed bad guys, that much he knew from all of the stories he was told by Shanks, nevermind his grandfather's blatant lies. Luffy was wondering about how the bandits suddenly fell, and why Higuma suddenly lost heart so abruptly. Shanks looked down at Luffy, his stern and cold expression gradually letting up to show a warm and reassuring smile.

"Luffy, are you still serious about becoming a pirate?" he asked. Luffy nodded swiftly. Shanks took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, so as to calm himself down. "There comes a time when you need to show what you're capable of. To flare your strength for everyone to feel, and fear, if the need for that arises," said Shanks. Luffy blinked at the non-sequitur, which had absolutely nothing to do with the situation.

"That doesn't explain anything!" he objected. Despite the still-fresh blood on his shirt, the young man was chuckling.

The Red Hair pirates were all taking their part in cleaning the tavern, throwing the unconscious bandits out of the town, and disposing of Higuma's corpse as Luffy and Shanks conversed.

"It's kind of a big secret, so don't tell anyone, alright?" started Shanks. Luffy nodded vigorously. "Alright, here goes. It's called haki," said Shanks, confusing Luffy even further.

"H-haki...? What is Haki?" asked Luffy. Shanks took a deep breath.

"You read children's books, Luffy? Do any of the following words mean anything to you: 'Fighting spirit', 'presence', and 'intimidation'?" asked Shanks. Luffy nodded slowly. "The three different types of haki come in colors. The color of Observation allows one to sense a person without looking at them, hence presence.

"The color of Armament allows one to coat their body or weapons in a thick metallic, but bendable armor that one can materialize at will, and is used best when fighting," said Shanks.

Luffy scratched his head in wonder. Shanks raised his hand before suddenly making it black and shiny. Luffy touched the hand, noting how durable it felt.

"That's like metal, Shanks! Awesome!" he yelled. Luffy's yells stopped abruptly before noting something. "Then what you used was intimidation, huh? Or color of Conquering?" asked Luffy. Shanks nodded, ruffling Luffy's hair. "I wanna learn haki! Please teach me, Shanks! I promise I'll stop bugging you about joining your crew if you promise to teach me!" yelled Luffy.

"Er… It's supposed to be a secret, Luffy. Your grandfather won't ever let me hear the end of it if I tell you," said Shanks, concerned. At the mention of his grandfather, Luffy suddenly froze up and was unable to move or change his facial expression from anything but utter fear.

"Y-y-you k-k-know about G-g-gramps?" Luffy stuttered. Shanks grinned widely.

"Know him? The guy damn near killed me more than once," started Shanks. Shanks then continued recounting tales and adventures of the Red Hair pirates and their various run-ins with the vice admiral, Monkey D. Garp.

-x-

The whole event had transpired in minutes, despite it seeming like years. Luffy had watched it all. He wasn't disgusted by Shanks' course of action. In fact, he began to deconstruct it. Shanks had pure motives, and was, like any other human has been in at least one point in their lives, agitated. Besides, the mountain bandit had a bounty and was a legitimate threat to society. All in all, his death was deserved, nay, necessary for the good of all.

Luffy had always wanted to be a pirate. The first time he saw Shanks, he knew that he wanted to become one. The freedom to do whatever you want was beckoning him. When he first heard of the pirate king, his resolve only strengthened. He didn't want to be just any pirate. He wanted to be like Shanks, but eventually, he dreamt of going further than that. He wished to be more than what Shanks ever was. He wanted to become the pirate king. To become the king, he needed a quality that every king had. This quality is namely strength.

Luffy realized that the path to strength might not have been just to grow strong in the traditional sense of the word. He needed more than that. Physical strength would only take him ten per cent of the way, or so he hypothesized. He'd need a hell a lot of strength to get far enough in life, something that he would have to train years to achieve, and it still wouldn't be certain that he would reach his goal. He needed something not many people that sailed the sea had. He needed cunning, tactical genius and the ability to be three steps ahead of his enemies.

It was this day that Luffy decided where his strength should lie, and by the time the day of the Red Haired Pirate crew's departure came, Luffy had already somewhat matured. This was maybe his last moment with his idol Shanks, and he did his everything to suppress the tears.

"…and don't even think about coming with us, Luffy!" he taunted, sticking out his tongue. Luffy sighed shortly.

"I won't. I'll get my own crew, and my own ship and sail, and then I'll sail the seas with my own purpose. I'll learn how to swim in no time and then I'll be unstoppable! I'll be the pirate king someday, and that's a promise," promised Luffy, eyes glassy from all the tears building up. Shanks couldn't help but give a genuine smile. He removed the hat from his head and placed it on Luffy's.

"Luffy, this hat is more important to me than any treasure. When you become a great pirate, I want you to return it to me, but only then, eh, kid?" he said. Luffy pulled the rim of the hat downwards, hiding his eyes. The tears were running down his face rampantly, now. Sadness had mixed with joy as well as hints of anxiety. He was just a boy after all, and he couldn't help feeling sad that his idol was leaving him.

Luffy only managed to nod meekly, rubbing away the tears from his face. Shanks boarded his ship while Luffy waved him farewell, as well as the rest of the Windmill Village.

'I will become the king of the pirates, Shanks! You just wait and see!' he thought, before returning to the tavern, feeling rather drained emotionally from the heart-wrenching departure.

In a quiet corner of a quiet sea, a quiet village was known as the Windmill village to its inhabitants. Despite its regular silence, it was surely a village of beginnings, for it would be the starting point for Monkey D. Luffy's journey to becoming the pirate king. What would the seas have in store for him?

This was precisely what Luffy wanted to know. Ten years from the day he had witnessed Shanks take off from the Windmill village port, he, too, had taken off from the same port. It was the same port that his own brothers had taken off from three years earlier.

"I think I'll save brute strength for when I enter the Grand Line, otherwise it'll be way too boring and predictable... until then, let me test my cunning," Luffy muttered to himself as he rowed his boat towards the horizon. "It doesn't matter how strong or weak they are. Skill and cunning before brute strength. I'd say about... 10% of my total strength would be enough."

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A/N: Why, hello, there! Well, here's the first redone chapter, the prologue. I hope it's better than the previous one.


	2. Chapter 1 - Down the plank? Enter Luffy!

Chapter 1 - Down the plank? Enter the rookie Pirate, Luffy!

"...hehehe, err, I'm pretty done, aren't I?" asked the red-shirted youth whose name would soon be drenched in infamy across all seas. Despite this, his current situation did well to refute that possibility on account of how vulnerable he now was. He was kneeling, arms tied behind his back, held at sword point and gunpoint by three pirates. In front of the youth sat a structurally prominent woman, whose name was even more prominent in those parts of the sea. She was seated in a throne-like chair, observing the boy that they held captive.

"Ya think?" replied the woman sarcastically, venom oozing from her every word. Luffy shrugged sheepishly.

"Well, uhm, here's the thing… uhm, AHA! Parley! How about a parley, oh stupendous, ehm, captain landwhale…?" gasps heard all over the ship obscured whatever Luffy was about to say next. The pirate captain Alvida was furious, something the veins in her forehead did well to display. "Uhm, was that it, or…?" Luffy's voice trailed off, realizing that he had, indeed, forgotten her name.

"Insolent brat! Where the hell do you come off angering ME on my own ship?!" Alvida was positively fuming, and her face was practically red hot. Luffy shrugged sheepishly once again, at a loss for words. "And as if I'd even consider trading with you! Your little dinghy did have a large assortment of toys for me, yes, but do you expect me to believe that you've still got anything left to trade?!" she shouted each word in a deafening volume.

"Well, that is if everything you stole from me was, indeed, everything I own. You've got it all wrong, ma'am. I've got a whole chest filled with more stuff on another island. All I ask is a fair chance for us to trade," tried Luffy. His words might have indicated a tinge of desperation but his grin had never left his face since the moment he faced off with the giant of a woman.

"I'll make my answer short, kiddo. Bull. Shit. I would have recruited you to my crew but that nasty tongue of yours sure does like burning bridges," said Alvida, earning a chuckle in reply from Luffy.

"I do dabble in arson, yeah. I'd hate to throw something off-topic at you, but I've just gotta share this. Did you know that if you left some pineapple juice to heat in the sun for a few days, and then distil it to remove some of the water, you'd have alcohol? Add some motor oil, and mix it in with some gunpowder, then we're getting somewhere. Now, here's the real kicker. If you put a cloth inside the bottle and light the cloth on fire, BOOM! Impromptu Molotov cocktail! Awesome, right? Right?" persisted Luffy in hopes of earning a few 'wows' and 'awesome!', but much to his disappointment, he received total silence.

"And that's important because…?" said Alvida.

"Throwing the bottle and hitting something with enough force to break the bottle would ignite the explosion. That much I believe you know. But did you know that if you left the cocktail untouched for a specific amount of time, it actually explodes by itself?" asked Luffy. Alvida raised an eyebrow.

"Let me rephrase my earlier question: And this applies to me in any way, shape or form because…?" asked Alvida. Luffy would have to raised his index finger knowingly were it not for his hands being bound.

"Now that's a good question. Ya see, I might have a tendency to talk a lot, but I'd expect anyone worth their salt to know when their prisoner is stalling or not. What if I told you that the entire lower deck is decked with explosives capable of blowing us to kingdom come within a specific amount of time…?" asked Luffy, grinning expectantly. Alvida's expression was largely unfazed.

"The hell do you think I was born yesterday?! Bull. Shit!" repeated Alvida.

"Are you sure…?" asked Luffy.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I am very sure," said Alvida, resting her chin on one of her hands. "Ya know, the only reason you've been kept alive up to this point was really just to try and ease my boredom but you're pretty much the cause of it at this point," commented Alvida. Luffy chuckled in his trademark cheek.

"Why, thank you, ma'am," replied Luffy, smiling widely. Alvida let out a sigh.

"Let me ask you something, kid. You seem a lil booksmart, judging by how so 'eloquent' you seem to be. Ever read the book: 'A million ways to die in the blues'? Hell, that's the only book I've ever read," said Alvida. Luffy perked up.

"While it is an accurate rendition of the perilous life of a pirate, I shudder to think of the implications of bringing this up, especially in my position," said Luffy, a sweat drop threatening to run down his forehead.

"Bingo, kid. Ya know, from all those ways to die: mast-hanging, wheeling, anchoring, shark fishing, piranha-bathing, sea king fishing and the list goes on, the only one that really did appeal to me was walking the plank. Think about it: forcing your prisoners to their own deaths, watching as all hope drains from their bodies the more steps they take. While I'm no Edgar Alan something, the best word I'd use for it would be something along the lines of 'exhilarating'!" exclaimed Alvida. Luffy gulped, hiding his nervousness with his ever-present grin.

"What a cliché," muttered Luffy under his breath as he was made to stand up and get to the front of the plank. The Alvida pirates had him half-surrounded around the plank. Directly behind him was the imposing figure of Alvida.

"Walk the plank! Walk the plank!" chanted the crowd, thrusting their sabres towards Luffy, forcing him to move forward. Luffy walked slowly, surveying his surroundings. Luffy continued more warily when he was at the part of the plank suspended above air. He could feel the nails losing their grip as the plank became more and more unstable. Once he was out of the reach of their swords, the group of pirates held him at gunpoint lest he attempt anything that might allow him to escape. Luffy reached the end of the line. He knew he only had a few seconds before the plank let go. At the same time, he knew that if he were to turn back, dozens of pirates would have already turned him into swiss cheese. Alvida barked out orders, nonetheless.

"Once the kid falls, blow so many holes into 'im to the point where he dunno which one to shit or piss from!" yelled Alvida. Luffy did his best to ignore the jeering from the crowd in favour of concentrating on his escape.

Luckily for him, he liked keeping his small stiletto within the lining of his shirt. He turned around to stare the Alvida pirates dead in their eyes, digging into the back of his shirt. Finally managing to free his blade, he cut his bindings loose, but held them up to avoid having the crowd know that he's loose. Thus, all he needed to do now was to get away from the line of fire. As swift as a spring chicken, Luffy leapt as high as he could before landing on the plank hard, breaking it, causing him to fall to the sea with nothing but a piece of wood to keep him afloat.

As he fell, he grabbed hold of the wood and landed on top of it as the board belly flopped on the water. Thankfully the water hadn't encompassed Luffy's entire body, so he wasn't weakened. He rowed himself towards the side of the ship in order to get out of the line of sight and get back onboard. Luffy raced his eyes across the ship in order to find a single loose wooden plank. Finding one, he reached for his knife, digging into the piece of wood before yanking it off. He did this with the surrounding wood planks before making a hole big enough to manage to creep inside of the ship. He was right below the floorboards of the lower deck in the ship. He strained his ears for anything, eventually hearing some crewmates.

"That fool must've sank straight down! I couldn't see 'im anywhere after he fell! Though a fool, he sure almost made me laugh," said the crewmate. The boy considered this. He knew, now, that they thought he was dead, which could work out in his favour. Luffy continued to crawl below the floorboards before carving his way up, appearing at the lower deck. Luckily, no one was around, which gave Luffy some precious time to begin planning ahead.

There were several choices for Luffy to make. On one hand, he could try and flee under cover of night, which might succeed, but at the same time, it might instead get him killed. On the other, he could destroy the ship using some explosives he might be able to steal back from the loot that Alvida had collected. That would almost be as pointless as the World Government destroying the entire world simply because they coincidentally had enemies in it. In other words, it made no sense at all, and would doom the Alvida pirates as well as Luffy in equal measures. A third option would be to beat everyone down and hijack the ship.

Unfortunately, this wasn't just some stupid cartoon where the good guy always wins despite the massive difference in odds. Luffy needed a reliable way to survive, which involved having him use his brains over his brawns.

Luffy made a mental list of his current options. For now, a trade was out of the question. In fact, anything which involved him negotiating himself out of trouble was out of the question. He could face Alvida, asking to join the crew because of how he had inexplicably survived the plank. Doing so, however, might infringe on Luffy's own values, most of which stemmed from a promise he made with his two brothers years ago on how they'd set out to create their own crews, fighting under no banner or flag but the ones they had raised themselves. While Luffy's logical side cursed that day, Luffy's honourable side, which was stronger, abided the promise.

Regardless, however, the young hero was in quite a sticky situation. He took a deep breath before sighing slowly.

"Eeyup, I'm done," he mumbled. He sank down in a half-depressed state, sulking. A moment later, he rose up quickly and began pacing around the abandoned deck, making up strategies for himself. He began regaining his morale, now confident that he'd not just survive, but actually manage to come out at the top.

He made a quick survey of what was at his disposal. He had his trusty seastone knife gifted from his grandfather, and a pouch filled with minor explosives.

He had the assault planned in his head and was ready, now more than ever, to face the crew all on one. Luffy looked around in search for the staircase that would lead him to the main deck. When he saw it, he climbed it quickly to reach the main deck. Most of the pirates were busy working, but more and more began noticing Luffy, and when they did they pulled out their weapons and pointed them at the boy. Alvida herself didn't notice the boy until she was notified.

"Captain! The straw hat kid's alive!" yelled a certain member of the crew. Alvida gazed upon the boy, half-irately and half expectantly.

"Ye know, kid… I'm getting pretty tired of your shit. If you so choose to stain my precious ship with your blood, so be it. Attack!" she yelled, prompting the people holding swords to charge towards Luffy, who had hastily dug into his pouch in search of smoke bombs. He pulled one out quickly, detonating it on the ground before him.

He had an advantage, now. While the pirates had to be careful not to hurt their comrades, Luffy was free to slash and stab wherever he pleased, so it was largely a win-win for him. Pulling out his knife, he began slashing wherever he heard noises, and caused quite a few to fall down, weakened by their injuries. The smoke had almost cleared, and Luffy took down the last offender, with no injury to himself.

Sensing that the smoke thinned, he lifted up an unconscious pirate and held him up as a meat shield. The gunners were unable to shoot Luffy, which had angered Alvida so much that she demanded a gun from the gunner who was right in front of her. She pulled the trigger and landed three bullets into her own crewmate. Luffy was lucky that the bullets hadn't penetrated, but he was almost certain, now, that the man he was holding was dead.

He pushed the body down and dashed for the closest gunner to himself. He bobbed and weaved in unnatural patterns, making it hard for the gunner to pin him down. Luffy punched the gunner square in the nose, causing him to fall down with the gun. Luffy yanked the gun off of the injured pirate, while at the same time dodging a storm of bullets that the other gunners had caused, intent on putting Luffy down.

Luffy finally had a gun in his hand and, before he began shooting, time slowed down to almost a standstill. The bullets were traveling out of the guns at a snail's pace, but he was able to narrowly dodge them, despite his slow state. He then began shooting. There were approximately six rounds inside the shabby revolvers, and he knew for a fact that a revolver was prone to misfire when quick firing.

He knew that he needed to take chances, so he aimed for the hands of all the gunners, who were quite a few. Luffy could only hope to tackle the immediate aggressors before he began on the rest of the crew.

One thing he had noticed from the crew was that there were so few of them. Shanks had at least thirty members on his crew, but this crew had fifteen at best, and none of them really seemed that strong.

Fingering the trigger, Luffy pulled as fast as he could because of the fact that he was perceiving the world at a much quicker pace. He felt the recoil slowly climb through his arm before stopping at his shoulder, and hastily realigned his aim once again, now at a different target. He did this six times, each time praying that the gun wouldn't just blow up due to the buildup of heat. Luckily, the gun didn't jam, and he was able to hit his intended targets.

Luffy then decelerated his thinking pace. The world was still slow, but he was still able to move relatively quickly. He used his time to look around, slowly dragging his eyes from place to place, scanning for any new enemies. There were still some swordsmen left standing, and the few gunners in front of him were cowering, their hands shaking. Luffy still weaved around with impressive agility, dodging the incoming bullets with ease. He had already discarded his gun in favour of his knife, and once he reached his targets, he made some quick slashes on a man's chest, causing him to stagger and drop his firearm in fear. Luffy rolled over to pick it up, now aiming for some incoming enemies. With a few shots, he was able to fend them off, but the gun jammed and Luffy dropped it before it caused a miniature explosion.

He slowed his thinking a bit more, now, and looked around himself. At least twelve people were on the floor, down for the count, while a few were still around Alvida, who held her iron mace over her shoulder, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"What the hell're ya waitin' for?! Attack!" yelled Alvida to her crewmates that were still around her.

"Forget about it, captain. He's too strong-" and with that, a giant iron mace was promptly slammed into the head of the pirate, causing a splatter of blood to stain the deck. The man's face was completely unrecognizable. His head was utterly destroyed, revealing bits of skull and brain matter. The sight was positively horrifying, causing the other pirate next to Alvida to charge at Luffy without further hesitation. Luffy had his knife at the ready, prepared to parry the strike, and a moment later stab the pirate, taking measures to avoid any vital points.

The pirate had, predictably, gone for an overhead strike, blocked by Luffy's knife. The weight of the sabre as well as the force of the strike was almost enough to let the blade slip, slashing his head. Luffy pushed back with his might, causing the pirate to stagger. He lunged in for a stab, pulling the blade out of the pirate swiftly. The pirate collapsed. He was unconscious, but not dead.

As he witnessed the atrocities that Alvida had committed, he was no longer grinning. The pirate captain in front of him had not hesitated to kill two members of her crew in order to get to Luffy. While he knew that there were people in the world capable of such actions, it did nothing to stop the fire raving inside of him, giving him some newfound determination to defeat the person in front of him. Killing her would be too much of a mercy, so he had to thoroughly humiliate her and keep her alive to let her suffer the humiliation for all time.

'Iron mace' Alvida dragged her mace across the deck, heading towards Luffy at a slow, but steady pace. She was scraping the mace against the wood, causing splinters to fly. Luffy wasn't bothered by the noise. Suddenly, with a dash of speed that contradicted her build, she charged into Luffy with her mace in an attempt to do an overhead strike. Luffy, fortunately, rolled out of the way, and looked back at the space he had just occupied. The floor she had struck was almost completely decimated, and Luffy thanked the stars that he wasn't there at that point in time.

He accelerated his thinking once again, scanning the floor in search of a firearm. He spotted one, a few steps to the right. He looked back to see the towering form of the obese lady, going for another overhead strike on Luffy. He managed to jump out in time, now going for the gun he had seen. He pulled back the cock of the old flintlock model and prayed that someone had loaded it beforehand. Sadly, the gun was jammed. Cursing inwardly, he leapt out of the way from another strike, getting back on his feet.

Alvida approached the boy slowly, swinging the mace towards Luffy, who backed and sidestepped, slashing and stabbing when he had an opening. All the injuries that Alvida sustained only made her angrier, paradoxically making her stronger. Luckily, he had managed to land a slash on her wrist, rendering that particular hand unusable for the rest of the fight. She could now only use her right hand. While still a formidable opponent, she had lost a considerable amount of speed.

Luffy used her stunned state to land another slash, hitting her forehead. The wound bled into her eyes, blinding her as she now had to wipe her eyes whenever she wanted to look. She knew she had no such opening to give so she began swinging wildly, in case Luffy attacked. The swinging had, for the most part, chased Luffy away, but this only gave him more time to find a functioning gun that he could use.

Inside a weapons barrel not far away, he spotted a revolver. He dove for it quickly, checking the chamber for anything useful. There weren't any bullets inside. He cursed again, and got to his feet, looking at the irate pirate captain still swinging her mace around. Luffy sifted through his bomb pouch, looking for anything that might take her out of commission without mortally wounding her. As it stood, he had several ways to outright kill her, but few ways to defeat her non-lethally. Alvida took a short break from swinging to clear her eyes from all of the blood. The wound was starting to clot, which was bad news for Luffy.

An idea struck Luffy, suddenly. He kicked down the barrel of guns and picked out all the flintlocks that he could find. He cut a piece of his shirt off with his knife and placed it flat on the floor. He poured the gunpowder that he could find on the ripped clothing and packed it tightly. His shirt was still wet from his walk off the plank, but he made sure to use a piece of his shirt that had already dried. He packed the cloth tightly, doing his best to remove all of the air inside. He tied the end of the ball to some rope that was lying around.

Unfortunately, his little chemistry project was interrupted by a steaming Alvida, who appeared behind Luffy, holding the young boy at gunpoint.

"Got any last words, fucker?"

"Actually, I've got four. FIRE IN THE HOLE!" yelled Luffy at the top of his lungs, throwing Alvida off somewhat. He threw the explosive ball high in the air, diverting Alvida's attention towards it. Upon seeing the incendiary device, she dove for cover, and waited for the explosion… only to realize that it wasn't coming. She promptly tried to stand up, but something was blocking her head.

The tables had turned. Luffy was now holding Alvida at gunpoint, ready to fire at any moment. It was only then that Alvida admitted defeat. She expected to be shot, but Luffy simply withdrew his gun and punted her in her forehead, knocking her unconscious.

Luffy dropped the gun and glanced towards the ball filled with gunpowder, feeling sad that he couldn't detonate it. He paced around the ship where only he was left standing. Counting his injuries, he realized that he really was untouched, but for the part of his shirt that he had to cut off. He then froze, worrying about the state of his hat. He pulled it off of his head and rotated it, giving it a complete scan. Fortunately, the hat wasn't harmed.

He walked towards the bow of the ship and looked out towards the endless horizon, a feeling of great success washing over him. He had just come out on top in his first ever sea battle, and he was basking in the sunlight. He began thinking back to his stupid decision to take off from Dawn island using nothing but a relatively large dinghy with a sail with all of his stuff inside. He had chosen to do this since starting off any higher would ruin the sport, and he had already given his brothers a three year head start. If he started off in any other way, they might be able to use it against him once he inevitably became the pirate king.

Alas, his brothers never had to deal with the Lord of the Coast and a whirlpool shortly after setting off, and they had each other's backs until they decided to split apart somewhere along the road. Luffy then realized just how many handicaps he had, but rejoiced over how much sweeter the reward would be, seeing as how he had to deal with way more than his brothers had at his age.

He'd also have wagered that they never ran into any enemy pirate ships, too. Even if they did, they had raw strength and the ability to topple the entire ship with nothing but their raw power. Once the ship had spotted Luffy, he could do nothing but surrender and think of a way to get the hell out of the mess, which he did. Luffy began grinning like a madman before cackling like one, too. He held his stomach as he laughed loudly at the skies.

"SHISHISHISHISHISHI! NONE OF YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH ANY OF THIS THAT EARLY, HUH?!" he exclaimed, tears of mirth streaming down his face at the thought of how much more advanced he was over his brothers. The laughter died down before he moved on. He went to the storage room and began looking for the stuff that was stolen from him. He had spent the last three months stockpiling his explosives, and he wasn't about to simply let them get stolen. He opened a barrel, revealing a pink-haired boy who was crouched inside. The boy was in a fetal position, and he could hear him whimpering. Luffy scratched his head wonderingly before poking the boy's head with his finger.

The young boy looked up at Luffy before screaming. Luffy then recognized him. It was that timid boy who stood by Alvida's side, polishing her shoe while Luffy was talking to her.

"UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me!" he pleaded, earning himself a confused look from Luffy.

"Relax! I'm not here to hurt you!" said Luffy, trying to reassure the young teenager to some success. Luffy held out his hand so that the boy could get some help out of the barrel, but he refused to reach for the hand. Sighing inwardly, he kicked the barrel down and allowed the boy to roll out.

"Y-you said you wouldn't hurt me!" complained the boy.

"What's your name?" started Luffy, completely ignoring the boy's complaints.

"We've got no time for that! Alvida might be here any minute! I'll help you hide in case she comes in!" Coby was visibly stressed judging by the sweat cascading down his face. Luffy snapped his fingers in realization.

"So THAT'S what her name was! Heh, I almost forgot, silly me," Luffy slapped his forehead lightly as Coby was completely agape, eyes bulging out impossibly. He glanced towards Coby, whose jaw was most likely dislocated judging by how wide he gaped. "Yeah, there's no need to worry about her. I reckon it'll take her quite a few days before she wakes up," Luffy held his chin, calculatively. "Aaanyways! Monkey D. Luffy's the name. Becoming the pirate king? Well, that's the game!"

"P-p-p-pirate king? Do you realize what you're even saying! The pirate king's the strongest pirate in the seas - all the seas! Even the grand line!" said Coby, still gaping. Luffy knocked him on his forehead lightly.

"Well… duh! That's the whole point, right?" Luffy chuckled. "I mean, I did take your captain down for the count, so becoming a pirate king might not be such a stretch, right?"

"D-did you really take down Alvida?" he asked in a solemn and quiet tone. Luffy's grin doubled.

"Heck yeah! Lemme show ya!" he said, pulling Coby behind him, up the stairs and onto the main deck. An impressive sight greeted him there. Firstly, all the men were down, and the movement that they made were writhes of agony. Despite all this, the most impressive sight was Alvida, face utterly bloodied and lying down in a heap of humiliation. Thankfully she was unconscious.

Coby fell on his knees at the sight, before looking back towards Luffy, his apprehension for the boy doubling.

"W-where's your crew?!" he asked, knowing that no single teenager could defeat a whole pirate crew single-handedly. Luffy looked at him, confused.

"Scattered around the world, I guess. Waiting for me to recruit them," he replied.

"C'mon do you expect me to believe that! What sort of guy just up and defeats a whole pirate crew on his own! It's impossible! Impossible! Impossible!" Coby's rant was interrupted by Luffy rapping his fist against his head. "Owch! Why'd you do that?!" yelled the boy indignantly.

"I can't be the first person to tell you this, can I? You're. Annoying," Luffy said the words slowly, letting them sink in for the boy. "And for the record, I'm not just any guy. I ate a devil fruit. I've dubbed it the Think Think fruit. It allows me to control the pace of my thinking, causing the world to slow down for me, or speed up, but my body remains unchanged," said Luffy, crossing his arms with his nose pointed upwards proudly.

"Do you expect me to believe that, too?!". Admittedly, this threw Luffy somewhat off, giving Luffy an annoyed scowl.

"You don't have to. The only thing you better believe is me becoming the pirate king!" he yelled indignantly.

"Urgh! Bull - HRK - SHIT!" said a pirate who slowly stood up. He held a gun, pointing it towards Luffy. Coby switched between looking at his former crewmate and Luffy, worried. Luffy looked back, towards the offender. He tried scowling at him.

"Drop the gun if you know what's good for you," threatened Luffy. The atmosphere on the ship sank by a good twenty degrees, and Coby could feel the tension rattling his bones. The pirate spat out some blood before raising his middle finger at Luffy.

"You ain't got nowhere to go, no more cheap tricks to pull. See you in hell," he concluded. Right before he pulled the trigger, Luffy slowed time down once again. He saw the flash of the muzzle, and a short while later, he heard the roar of the gun. Luffy already had his knife ready, but he knew that what he was to do next required utmost precision. He calculated exactly where he thought the bullet would hit him, and stationed his knife there. He had confidence that the knife's blade wouldn't shatter as he had had first-hand experience with its durability.

The bullet inched itself towards its target, slowly. Luffy knew that the biggest task at hand, now, would be to resist the sheer force of the bullet in order to split it. He had the bullet's path right where he wanted it. The bullet had finally arrived, and once it made contact with the knife, Luffy suddenly felt a great force pushing the blade away from him. He remained strong, however, and resisted it. The bullet tried forcing itself a little while longer before it conceded, splitting into two different equal sections. With a twitch of his knife, he diverted the two bullets' paths and made them fly past himself.

Luffy gave the world its speed back and let out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding. All hope of the pirate winning his fight with Luffy was quickly washed away when he appeared undamaged, dashing towards the pirate to end the fight hastily. The pirate showed one final expression of pure fear before a fist was dug into his face, knocking him back and making him hit the back of his head on the wooden wall behind him.

All the while, Coby watched agape, standing frozen.

"H-how could he have missed? He's our sniper! He never misses in that distance!" yelled Coby, his voice quivering with panic.

"Well, that's easy. He didn't. I cut the bullet into two pieces and made them fly past me, harmlessly. I did this by slowing time down, giving me a larger window to prepare for the maneuver, which I don't think I'll repeat again. Damn, my wrists are hurting!" said Luffy, wincing as he observed the state of his wrists. Coby was completely speechless.

Without another word, however, Luffy headed back down to the storage room and scoured the place for the barrels that had been stolen from him. He had two, one filled with explosives and the other with food rations and jugs of water as well as a stack of a few books. He stacked both of them on top of each other before returning to the main deck where Coby was seated, completely dazed by what he had seen.

"Could you help me load these barrels to the nearest boat?" asked Luffy. Coby was unresponsive. Luffy continued on, indifferent, just when Coby spoke up.

"Monsters… I guess… they do exist, huh?" he muttered, loud enough for Luffy to hear. It stopped the young rookie pirate dead in his tracks. He laid down his barrels and began chuckling.

Luffy turned around to face Coby while grinning widely. "You better believe it!". Coby took no notice to the exclamation, and instead he continued talking.

"The name's Coby, by the way. I guess… I've got nowhere to go, now that my crew's done for," he mumbled.

"You could join my crew!" Luffy hastily reassured. Coby shook his head slowly.

"I… never wanted to be a pirate… I never chose this life. I once had a dream, you know. One not so different from yours. The kind of dream you come up with when you're way too young to have any idea of how the world works. My dream? I wanted to become a marine admiral. The marine admiral. I'd capture criminals like Alvida and those who torment innocent civilians all over the world!" Coby's voice trailed off, shrinking in volume.

"...may I ask what the hell a marine fanboy's doing under a black flag?" asked Luffy bluntly. Coby sighed again.

"I actually don't know. Once upon a time I got captured by the Alvida pirates and I served as their cabin boy for two years. That's the excuse I've been hiding under for quite a while, but really... I was too scared to do anything about it. I've had several chances to escape, more than I could count, really. I… just… never followed through. There are plenty of answers to your question, Monkey D. Luffy, but if I'll be honest with myself, it's because I'm a coward," said Coby. Luffy considered this for a moment before giving his thoughts in a solemn tone.

"You pretty much are one. A big one at that," he replied. Coby curled into a ball of self-loathing at the comment, but Luffy still had more to say. "A marine admiral, huh? If it's really that important to you, I don't see why you can't become one," Luffy shrugged. Coby perked up, regaining a speck of hope in his eyes.

"R-really? You actually think so?" he asked. Luffy scowled.

"Ya ever read 'The Book of Five Rings'? It's an old novel that originated from the Wano kingdom in the New World. There's a particular quote that I really like there. 'Seek nothing outside of yourself'. The point? It doesn't matter what I think. Your growth comes from yourself, and yourself only. There ain't a damn thing I could say to make you stronger so you better start believing in your strength, or else no one else will," said Luffy. Coby was taken aback by the statement, at a loss for words.

Luffy continued loading the small sailboat with his barrels before letting the rope loose, lowering the row boat to sea level. Just as Luffy was about to hop into his boat, Coby spoke up.

"Shells town…" he said. Luffy looked back, confused. "The closest town to where we are is called Shells town. I suggest we go there, first,"

"We?"

"There's also a marine base, there. First thing I'll do there is enlist. You've inspired me, Luffy. Before you become the pirate king, you better bet every penny that I'll become an admiral first!" said Coby, pumping his fist energetically. Luffy began laughing.

"Shishishishishi! And I thought you'd be joining my crew! Eh, who cares, hop on Cody!" said Luffy, waving his hand towards the row boat invitingly. Coby began glaring daggers at Luffy.

"It's Coby, you idiot!" he yelled indignantly. Luffy was already on the boat before he could have heard him say that. Coby was next. He took a ladder down and boarded the small row-boat. Without missing a beat, Luffy grabbed both the oars and rowed in a speed which caught Coby completely off-guard, as they were travelling as fast as a miniature sailboat.

"Monster!" sputtered Coby, staring in awe at Luffy's show of strength. The straw-hatted youngling scoffed.

"With the conviction you just showed, I'll be damned if you don't become one, too!" Luffy began laughing at the stupefied look that Coby was exhibiting.


	3. Chapter 2 - Axe-hand Morgan's defeat!

Chapter 2 –

"You said you ate a devil fruit…" began Coby.

"Yes, the Think Think fruit," provided Luffy.

"You're not able to swim, then, are you?" asked Coby

"Nope, and neither am I able to touch seastone without feeling like a wet noodle," said Luffy.

"What's seastone?" he asked, confused. Luffy reached for his back, pulling out the knife.

"This blade is made of seastone. It's one of the hardest materials on earth, and they pretty much make devil fruit users go limp," said Luffy.

"What exactly is your power?" he asked, curiously.

"You know when you're in a really tight spot and pressure's building really high, like in a game or in a fight, and you're able to perceive the world much quicker? I'm able to control that part of myself perfectly. I can speed up or slow down my perception of the world, so in that case, I guess I'm a perception human, right?" said Luffy. Coby was awestruck.

"If you boost your perception of the world, does that make you superfast?" asked Coby.

"Well, as fast as my body allows me to be. I've got physical limits, like any other human. It's just that I've removed my mental limits. Eh, we don't have any paper or pencils, so I'll just explain it like this. Wave your hand really quickly," said Luffy. Coby, confused, did just that. "Now imagine if you could write in that exact same speed.

"No way, that's too fast for me to control…. Aaaahh," the implications dawned on Coby.

"Yeah, not for me. If I used my ability, I could most likely write an entire novel by the time it takes you to read half of it. Of course, I can also speed up my perception so that I can make split second decisions with a relatively massive window of time. It's really awesome, to be honest. I can even see bullets once they're fired if I use my ability," said Luffy. Coby scratched his head, confused.

"Then what about your monstrous strength?" said Coby.

"I was raised by mountain bandits, and I had to hunt to eat," replied Luffy nonchalantly. Coby deadpanned.

"Somehow, at this point I'm not even surprised," said Coby. "Where did you find a Devil fruit, anyway?" asked Coby.

"It's a long story, really, and it's a lot longer than you think it is. Let's just say that it involved a shitty fourth-rate pirate crew in East Blue, an averted social cleansing, and an interrogation that I'd rather forget, really," said Luffy, chuckling sheepishly. Coby simply nodded, before digging his nose back into the compass and map that was present. After a while, Luffy struck up another conversation.

"This Shells town seems like a cool place. So there's a marine base there, too, right?" said Luffy. Coby sighed, half-depressed.

"If only. There's a guy there, too, called Roronoa Zoro. He's the famous pirate hunter swordsman," sighed Coby. Luffy perked up at the mention of him.

"He sounds strong! Is he a marine?" asked Luffy. Coby shook his head.

"He's an evil bounty hunter who's responsible for cutting down the biggest bounties in the east blue,"

"Then what the heck's he doing in a marine island?" asked Luffy, visibly confused.

"He was captured by the marines, and he's been imprisoned ever since,"

"Huh… so he's weak," Luffy sighed, disappointed.

"No! He's a super dangerous guy. He's by no means weak!" retorted Coby.

"…I should probably let him join my crew after I free him, then," said Luffy. Coby froze solidly at what Luffy had just said.

"Are you crazy?! If you free him, he might kill you and escape on his own!" exclaimed Coby. Luffy scratched his head, confused.

"Suppose he is a cold-blooded killer. Why would he just randomly kill me after I freed him?" asked Luffy.

"Because he is a cold-blooded killer! He kills for fun, and the only reason he hasn't been arrested before is because he's only been killing pirates!" said Coby.

"Then why was he arrested if he only kills pirates?" Coby considered this for a moment before replying.

"…I don't know, actually…" Coby replied. "Come to think of it, why was he arrested? Did he kill a marine or something?" he muttered to himself. Luffy looked towards the bow of the boat, a vulpine grin stretching across his face.

"He does seem like an interesting guy. If he's good, I'll let him join my crew," declared Luffy.

-x-

Eventually land was spotted. The towering marine building was the most visible part of the island, other than the sprawling town that lay in front of it. Shortly after it was spotted, the rookie pirate and the admiral-aspirant landed on the dock. The unlikely duo took off, shortly afterwards, into the town.

They were headed towards the marine base, both for different reasons. While Luffy wanted to check out his crewmate-to-be, Coby wanted to enlist. They were met by the towering gates of the marine base.

"This is it," said Coby. "It was nice knowing ya, but I guess this is the end," he said. Luffy ignored him in favour of grappling onto the ledge of the wall in order to see what was beyond it.

"Aha! Green hair, a haramaki and a bandana, is that the guy?" asked Luffy. Coby tried performing the same manoeuvre that Luffy had just done, to less success. Once he saw the crucified figure on the middle of the barren field beyond the wall, he was certain that it was him.

"…it's him, alright," said Coby.

"Great!" he exclaimed. Just as he was to jump over the wall, a ladder was placed right next to him. The one who placed the ladder climbed up the wall. It was a young girl who seemed to be around ten or so years old. She faced the two boys as she held a finger in front of her mouth and shushed them. Then she jumped down the wall and ran towards the seemingly unconscious figure. Just as she stood before him, the man raised his head.

The conversation couldn't be heard due to how far they were from each other, but the man had seemed to be very aggressive. The young girl unwrapped whatever she held on her hand, revealing a ball of rice. Just as she was about to seemingly feed it to the swordsman, an eccentric-looking youth entered the field. He had two marine soldiers flanking him and wore a colourful suit. The man had snatched a rice ball from the girl before taking a bite. Disappointed by the flavour, he spat it out and stomped on the rest of the balls that she was carrying.

The boy then pointed towards one of his marine soldiers, seemingly giving him an order. The soldier was unresponsive, which in turn prompted the eccentric-looking youth to grab the soldier by the collar. It was then that the soldier approached the young girl and lifted her up before throwing her over the wall. Luffy, surprised by the sudden turn of events, lunged towards the young girl with all the speed that he could muster on a short notice, grabbing her before she fell. Coby ran towards the girl, assessing her physical state as Luffy rose up, slowly. He climbed the wall quickly before appearing in front of the swordsman.

"So much for 'Evil Pirate Hunter', huh?" chuckled Luffy. Zoro opened his eyes to look at the boy standing before him.

"Get the hell outta my sight, you're an eyesore," said Zoro.

"So… how did a bounty hunter end up on the wrong side of the law so suddenly?" asked Luffy, crossing his arms while grinning.

"I'm not obligated to answer your question, kid," replied Zoro.

"Crap, forgot my manners. The name is Monkey D. Luffy. I'm starting a pirate crew and you seemed like an interesting guy. What do you say? Wanna join me?" asked Luffy.

"Feh! Like I'd stoop so low as to use my swords to fulfil criminal purposes. Like my name suggests, I hunt pirates, but I sure as hell don't join'em," spat the disgruntled swordsman.

"I've never seen a non-criminal tied up to a pole by marines. Practice what you preach, pirate hunter," retorted Luffy.

"I'm here for my own reasons, none of which involves me being a criminal or anything. I suggest you scram before I break loose and cut you into sashimi,"

"Jeez, alright, I'll leave," said Luffy, disappointed by the outcome. He was prepared to leave, but just before he did, Zoro called for his attention.

"Hey, pirate. Do you mind feeding me the rice ball?" asked the swordsman. Luffy stopped to look at the dirtied rice ball.

"Are you sure? It'll taste like dirt," said Luffy as he chuckled.

"I don't care. Just give me," said Zoro. Luffy conceded before bending over to pick up the dirtied food. He fed it to Zoro, who did all that he could not to spit it out, but he was coughing vigorously from all the dust which entered his windpipe.

"Told ya," said Luffy as he smiled.

"Whatever, man. Tell her it was tasty," muttered Zoro. With that, Luffy took his leave.

-x-

"…and then he told me to tell you that it was tasty," finished Luffy. Rika listened with awe, along with Coby.

"He ate it all up?" she asked. Luffy nodded while Coby rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I guess he's not a bad guy, huh?" commented Coby.

"He didn't seem like one," agreed Luffy.

"That's because he isn't! Big bro's a hero!" began Rika, the girl that had been thrown over the wall by the marine soldier earlier. "Have you heard of captain Morgan?" she asked. Coby nodded. "Then you'll know how much of a bad person he is!" she exclaimed. Coby gasped.

"What?! He's a marine captain, he can't be bad!" replied Coby. Rika shook her head.

"He's the worst person in the world, but his son, Helmeppo, is even worse! Three weeks ago, he was flaunting his pet wolf and had it run around the tavern eating other people's food. I tried chasing it away with my broom stick but it tried attacking me. I would have been dead had it not been for Big bro Zoro! He slashed the wolf up and killed it. Helmeppo was mad that his pet died so he ordered the marines to seize him. He was to be imprisoned for a whole month without food. If he survived, he would be allowed to leave," said Rika. Coby was almost in denial. He had always held the marine corps on such a high pedestal, but to hear it from a first-hand victim how it had treated her unjustly was almost too much for the young boy.

Luffy was solemn, for a change. After listening to what she had said, he was still determined to make Zoro his crewmate, but he would respect his bargain and let him finish the sentence. There was a brief silence after Rika revealed what had happened, before the captain's son, Helmeppo, barged into the tavern.

"I'm hungry. Me and my men want some food, and make it free, or else…" his voice trailed off ominously. Helmeppo sat down on a chair, feet on the table, as his two marine guards stood beside him.

"I'm getting real sick of that Roronoa Zoro. The only reason I've even kept him around this long was for my own amusement… I guess his execution is due," commented Helmeppo airily. Luffy overheard the conversation, and did not react kindly to the revelation.

"When will it occur?" asked one of his guards.

"Eh, tomorrow, I guess. As long as I get to see all hope drain from Zoro, it'll be fine anytime, re-" what had interrupted Helmeppo's conversation was a fist aimed directly at Helmeppo's nose. This had knocked him back off his chair. "ARGH, BY DOSHE!" slurred Helmeppo as he held his bloodied nose. "ID'SH BROKEN! HE BROKE BY DOSHE!" yelled Helmeppo, utterly scared for his life. Looking up, he caught the sight of a dark-haired boy with a red shirt, restrained by another boy behind him with pink hair.

"Let go of me, Coby! This guy is scum!" he yelled.

"It's not worth it, Luffy! Just leave him alone!" replied Coby. Helmeppo was helped up his guards. One of them held a gun pointing towards Luffy while the other assisted Helmeppo.

"In the name of the law, I hereby arrest you. Come quietly or face the Navy's justice!" he declared. Luffy shook himself out of Coby's grip and stared into the marine's eyes, glaring daggers at him.

"Pull the trigger, I dare you," seethed Luffy. The marine gulped, and at that exact moment, Luffy stepped forwards quickly and smacked the barrel of the gun upwards before stepping further in to give the marine an uppercut. The poor soldier fell and was seemingly unconscious. The marine helping Helmeppo was halfway out the door, but was not out of the line of fire. Luffy had yanked the gun from the hand of the unconscious marine and took his aim at the fleeing marine. He fired straight at the Marine's calf. The marine fell down, along with Helmeppo.

The people in the tavern were terrified and unable to comment at what was transpiring in front of them. Luffy dragged the wounded marine into the tavern and left him there.

"Excuse me for the excessive violence. Please give these two medical attention," said Luffy as he bowed to the tavern proprietor. He turned tail and went out of the tavern as he saw Helmeppo slowly getting to his feet. Luffy rolled him over as he grabbed his shoulder and gave him two punches and an extra one for good measure. The boy's face was bloodied, but he was dazed enough not to resist. From there, he slung the unconscious tacky dresser over his shoulder before heading towards the crucifixion field where Zoro was bound. He threw Helmeppo over the gate before he, himself, climbed over it.

Zoro perked up as he saw the unconscious youth slung over the obnoxious pirate's shoulder. Luffy dropped him in front of Zoro.

"What is this, some sort of offering?" asked Zoro incredulously.

"This bastard never intended to uphold your bargain. This time tomorrow, you'd be dead," Luffy bent over to pick up the unconscious youth, making him stand up. He slapped him on his cheek until he regained some consciousness. "Isn't that right, Helmetboy?" asked Luffy.

"How the hell do I know that you're telling the truth?" asked Zoro, angered at the possibility that this kid might have ruined the bargain.

"I've got witnesses back at the same tavern you killed Helmetboy's wolf at," said Luffy. Zoro raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"I see… that bastard's gonna pay for this. Oi, return my swords for me," said Zoro. Luffy thought about this.

"Join my crew and I'll give you the swords," said Luffy, matter of factly. Zoro smiled, light-hearted.

"What the hell are you, the son of the devil?" asked Zoro with good banter.

"You just seem like an interesting guy, really," said Luffy, scratching his head sheepishly. "Who took your swords, though?" he asked. Zoro grunted, looking towards the unconscious youth. "Well, that's no good. He's in no state to answer questions, so what to do?" asked Luffy to no one in particular.

Luffy considered an idea. It was a long-shot, but he tried it nonetheless. He took a step back before punting Helmeppo's groin. As soon as he had done so, the boy woke up with a howl. Once he stopped howling, Luffy grabbed him by his hair and rose him up to eye-level with Zoro.

"Where did you put this gentleman's swords?" asked Luffy. Helmeppo was absolutely shocked and wasn't able to protest. Instead, he chose to say where he had hidden them.

"I-in my room," said Helmeppo.

"Good. You're going to take me there. One question, though. How much does your father love you?" he asked. Helmeppo stuttered before answering.

"A-a lot, of course!" replied Helmeppo.

"So, in the event that he sees me holding you up, he wouldn't try killing you to get to me, now would he?" asked Luffy. Helmeppo gulped.

"O-of course not! How could he?!" he answered. Satisfied, Luffy then carried Helmeppo along the way to the main entrance of the marine building. Puzzled that no one was around at the time, he simply entered and followed the directions Helmeppo was giving him. Soon, without encountering a single soldier, they arrived at Helmeppo's very feminine room. Right around the corner were three swords. Luffy, unsure of which one was his, asked Helmeppo.

"Which ones are his?" he asked.

"All of them," said Helmeppo, almost mumbling. With no further ado, he picked the three swords up and headed once-again towards Zoro. What surprised him was that Coby was also there, and was trying to untie Zoro as… a firing squad was taking aim at them! A towering form with an iron jaw and short-cut blond hair stood behind the firing squad. He had an axe for a right hand, and bore a furious scowl.

Luffy ran as quickly as he could in front of the firing squad before they could fire. Seeing Helmeppo's beaten and bruised form caused the riflemen to halt.

"Shoot and Helmetboy will turn into swiss cheese," warned Luffy. Captain Morgan was absolutely furious. With every word he uttered, he spat.

"I DO NOT CARE WHETHER YOU SHOOT THAT BLASTED SON OF MINE! KILL HIM IF YOU MUST!" yelled Morgan. Luffy removed the three swords and threw them towards Zoro who was just untied. Just as he was, he threw Helmeppo down and tackled both Coby and Zoro, laying them low just as a rain of bullets came their way. The riflemen quickly discarded their guns and unsheathed their sabres before charging at the three teenagers. Zoro grabbed his swords and unsheathed them before blocking the marine soldier's collective strikes with his three swords, holding one sword in his mouth.

He had turned his back against the enemies, and began to speak with the obnoxious rookie pirate once again.

"You got me good, there, 'Monkey D. Luffy'," enunciated Zoro. "You're a crazy bastard, you know that?" asked Zoro. "I'll join your crew, but on one condition. If you ever get in the way of my dream, I will have you answer to me," said Zoro.

"And what's that dream?" asked Luffy, curiously.

"I'll be the greatest goddamn swordsman in the world," replied Zoro, matter of factly.

"The future pirate king would have no less by his side," said Luffy. Zoro chuckled.

"Pirate king, eh? You're crazier than I thought. It's a deal," said Zoro. "Now… if you don't mind," he said, looking up at the marines who were still parrying their blades with Zoro's. Luffy pulled out two revolvers that he had found in Alvida's ship and aimed them at the marines.

He robbed the world of its speed before aiming at each and every individual marine's shoulders and other non-vitals, picking each one out with impressive accuracy. Zoro was then suddenly relieved of his burden. Luffy returned its speed back to the world. Zoro was shocked by the quick succession of shots, looking around to see all the soldiers who had parried him lying on the ground writhing in pain. Luffy then raised his guns at Morgan. He fired three shots, of which one was blocked, and the other was missed. The third had hit Morgan on his belly.

"You… insolent…" Morgan ripped his captain's cloak off and readied himself for a fight. "How dare you attack me?! You are a pirate! You're worse than scum, and worse yet? You have no rank! I will reciprocate what you have done unto me TENFOLD you worthless maggot!" cursed Morgan, his face reddening almost impossibly. Meanwhile, Zoro whistled as he was impressed by what Morgan had said. Luffy picked his nose nonchalantly. Up until now, he hadn't found a stick or pipe he could use to fight, yet. The knife was all he had until he could do that, but he was sure that if he did have a pipe, the battle would have ended extremely quickly.

"You're wrong. I do have a rank. I'm a captain," replied Luffy.

"YOU DARE ACT LIKE YOU ARE THE SAME RANK AS ME?! AS A MARINE, MY RANK MULTIPLIES INFINITE TIMES FROM YOURS IN TERMS OF IMPORTANCE!"

"Hey, Morgan, how much does the rank of a captain mean when held by a pirate, without reference to anything else?" asked Luffy, restraining himself from bursting out from laughing at where he was leading Morgan.

"THAT IS 'CAPTAIN' MORGAN TO YOU, SCUM, AND THE RANK OF A CAPTAIN WHEN HE IS A PIRATE MEANS NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY ZERO!" Morgan was speaking so violently, spit flew at every word he uttered, making his metallic jaw glisten as drops of saliva dripped from it as though he were a rabid dog. Luffy then turned around to face Coby.

"Hey Coby, what's infinity times zero?" asked Luffy. Coby deadpanned.

"Everything that multiplies with zero is always zero…!" it took only a few seconds before Coby understood the joke, and by then, tears of mirth were running down his cheeks. Even Zoro had to restrain himself from laughing. It took a bit longer for Morgan to realize what Luffy had just said, but when he did…

Volcanoes erupted…

Buildings were demolished…

Ships were swallowed by massive whirlpools…

Captain Morgan was _crimson red._

"Hey, Morgan, be careful not to bust one of those veins, alright?" teased Luffy. Smoke was actually escaping Morgan's ears as he began breathing harder and harder, raising his shoulders upon every inhalation.

"I will not stand for this," muttered Morgan, his hushed voice betraying his inner turmoil at the moment. After some thought, Morgan dashed for Luffy, as fast as his monstrous physique could carry him. Just as he was upon Luffy, he brought his axe-hand down, crushing the ground that Luffy had just vacated, creating a fault line. Luffy held his hat in place as he jumped, only to land right behind Morgan. The marine captain swung his axe around himself just as Luffy ducked. Luffy then jumped up, kicking the marine captain's metal jaw. Luffy jumped back in order to make some space between him and his foe.

Morgan held his jaw in pain before spitting out some blood. Luffy loaded one of his revolvers with three extra rounds, and resumed his shooting. This time, the revolver seemed to be at fault. After Luffy's quick succession of shots earlier when he shot the marines, the muzzle had been deformed by the heat, now throwing his aim off. Luffy discarded the two guns, as the other one had also been damaged, in favour of his fists. Although his knife would have been a good weapon to use, Morgan was damaged, and it would only be fair if he fought unarmed.

Luffy dashed towards Morgan, but just as the titan was about to bring his axe down on him, Luffy weaved out of the way and jumped up in order to punch his nose. Morgan staggered as the blood gushed out of his nose, definitely due to his high blood pressure obtained from the pirate captain's rude comment. Luffy wasn't letting up. He jumped higher, making his feet at the same level as Morgan's head, as he kicked it. Just then, Morgan found his ground, and drove his axe once again, now to a vulnerable Luffy, who still hadn't landed from the jump he had made. With impressive dexterity, Luffy unsheathed his knife to parry Morgan's axe. The axe struck sparks when it hit the flat of Luffy's blade.

' _Crap, if I'd have struck with the sharp end of my knife, I'd have cleaved straight through his axe and he would have hit me,'_ thought Luffy. The durability and the sharpness of his sea prism stone blade was nothing to joke about, especially when compared to a lower metal such as iron. The axe had, however, dented at the spot where he struck the flat of Luffy's knife. Luffy got his footing, and made sure to incapacitate Morgan with his knife, cursing himself that he had underestimated his foe. Taking care in stationing himself safely, he parried the axe slash, this time with the sharp of his blade. As expected, the knife cut through the axe like a hot knife through butter. Luffy completed his slash, and marvelled at his handiwork. Axe-hand Morgan was now hatchet-hand Morgan. He had cut at least half of the axe's blade away, and had severely traumatized it from its earlier impact with the flat of the seastone blade.

The axe was almost ready to shatter, and Morgan had noticed that. He took a quick step back from his foe in order to assess the state of his axe. At that exact moment, several emotions washed through Morgant. Despair, anger, fear, and sadness to name a few. Luffy almost even felt bad for him, was it not for the fact that his pride had resurfaced as quickly as it was snuffed out, and his scowl had only deepened, almost going into his blond hair.

"How dare you…" seethed Morgan. Luffy simply shrugged.

"It's simple, really. You're just… weak. You're utterly weak, actually. You speak of your 'Captain' rank as an auxiliary marine like it's the apex rank. Do you know just how weak that is? An auxiliary marine is actually three ranks lower in all but name compared to their headquarter counterpart. You are no exception, hatchet-hand. Come talk to me about rank when yours is actually of any significance-"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up! I'm the strongest! I'm great! You are nothing but a maggot, and I will squash you right here! OBSERVE!" yelled Morgan. He prepared to dash for a few seconds before kicking off, storming towards Luffy with impressive speed. Just as he was to make contact with Luffy, he stopped dead in his tracks.

A warm liquid trickled out from his lower rib, soaking his shirt with a red colour. Morgan looked down slowly, to see the knife buried to the hilt into his chest. It was a little ways from his heart, but he knew, at that moment how outclassed he was. He could have sworn that the straw hatted boy held his knife straight down, and was too caught up in his furious charge. He had also noticed that the boy had used his other hand to stop the charge.

To an onlooker, the last portion of the fight might have been the most confusing. Luffy had, almost instantaneously even, switched his stance and made Morgan run into his blade while he used the other hand to stop the massive momentum.

"S-straw hat…" muttered Morgan as he fell to his knees. "Curse you-" and at that point, Luffy pulled out his knife before the massive man had fallen on it. Luffy slashed the air swiftly, shaking off the blood from the blade. He turned his back at the insensate captain, and headed towards Zoro.

"Let's get you some food, alright?" suggested Luffy. Just then, Zoro collapsed, alarming Coby, who checked his pulse and everything, but was relieved that he was still alive.

The marine soldiers, seeing that their captain was defeated, cried jubilantly, gleeful that the tyrant of their leader was taken down.

-x-

"Don't push yourself too hard, or the wound might open up," said Rika's mother as he was applying the bandages. She just managed to extract the bullet from the injured marine's calf, but he was restless. Next to him sat the girl who was almost injured by orders of Helmeppo, the captain's son.

"I honestly can't thank you enough, but… URGH… it's my duty to enter battle, so I can't stay here!" he grunted. He tried picking himself up from all of the pain, but was promptly put down by a man who was visiting the tavern.

"Slow down, big bro! Don't hurt yourself again," mumbled the girl, Rika, with tears threatening to leave her eyes.

"Take it easy, son. The bullet fractured your tibia, you ain't supposed to walk just yet," said the man. He was bigger than the injured marine soldier, so it wasn't hard to restrain him.

"Why are you even… helping me…? After all we've done to this town," asked the marine, tears threatening to leave his eyes. The man restraining him sighed.

"You're just doing yer job, son. Ain't no one blaming you for that," said the aging man. The marine couldn't resist the pressure of the tears building up, and let it go. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he lay down, powerless and unable to do anything.

Just then, a straw-hat wearing boy with a long-sleeved shirt with a man slung on his shoulder kicked the tavern door in, almost breaking it. He held down the man with one hand and his hat down with the other, a wide grin plastered on his face.

"I want meat, and lots of it!" yelled the boy. He tossed the man he held down, revealing the unconscious body of the town hero, Roronoa Zoro. The waitress gasped. "And bring a bucket of cold water, will ya?" he asked, pointing at the unconscious man. Without a word, she brought a bucket of water with ice cubes floating inside of it. She handed the bucket over to Luffy who poured it on Zoro. The swordsman gasped, wheezing, trying to get some oxygen to enter his lungs, but failing.

"UARGH …" gasped Zoro, clutching at his chest. Eventually, his breathing began to stabilize. Rika's mother looked into Luffy's eyes expectantly. The fact that Zoro was brought here could only mean one thing. Captain Morgan was done for. Luffy, as though he answered her unspoken question, nodded vigorously.

"Captain Morgan's reign is hereby over!" he yelled. With that single sentence, the entire tavern, nay the entire street lit up in absolute joy and happiness. Rika's mother had prepared a full-course meal, free of charge, to celebrate the people's victory over a tyrant.

Eventually, once the pirate duo finished their meals, the marines caught wind of this, and the second in command of the marine base, Lieutenant Ripper, knocked on the tavern door before entering.

"Excuse me, but are you pirates?" asked the lieutenant. Luffy rotated his chair to face the lieutenant while he was sitting.

"Yah, how can I help you?" he asked, jokingly.

"I see…" replied the lieutenant, slightly angry. "In that case, I'll have to ask you to leave. We won't report you, of course, due to the public service that you had provided for us. Do not worry, we are grateful, but as marines we can't overlook the presence of pirates if we can do anything about it, and besides, you've shot seven of our men, straw hat," Luffy shrugged sheepishly, much to Lieutenant Ripper's annoyance. "We can't ignore that, of course," said Ripper with no small amount of bitterness.

Luffy's straw hat shaded his eyes, but he made no fuss when he stood up, along with Zoro. Coby stared at the two, wide-eyed. Just as Luffy was to leave, he spoke up.

"Oh, and by the way. Coby over there has got nothing to do with us. I only met him just today, so don't use that against him because he wants to enlist," said Luffy. Coby gulped before standing up to face lieutenant ripper.

"Sir, I wish to enlist in the marine corps!"

"…and why should I, exactly?"

"Because there are evil people in this world, hell bent on ruining people's lives, and if I contribute to curbing the threat, then my life would finally be worth something, sir!" stated Coby, almost in a rehearsed tone. Ripper grinned joyfully.

"There are many threats out there, enlist. Be careful, alright?" advised Ripper. Coby was about to burst from happiness at hearing his acceptance, but instead... He saluted, like a seasoned soldier. A moment later, he felt the need to ask a question.

"Uhm, sir, is there a book called "The Book Of Five Rings" somewhere in the marine base library..."


	4. Chapter 3 - The feisty navigator, Nami!

Chapter 3 –

"...so… I've been meaning to ask you this since we set out… why three swords?" asked Luffy. He had been a witness of many strange things throughout his childhood, but he really wanted to know why the man he had just recruited wielded three swords at once.

"Three swords means three times the power, right?" replied Zoro jokingly. Luffy pouted.

"That's a dumb explanation. I mean, whose jaw is actually strong enough to hold a sword, and doesn't it sort of mess with your balance, distributing the weight of your sword so lopsidedly?" asked Luffy. Zoro shrugged indifferently.

"For every pound that I lift with my arms, I lift twice that amount with my neck, and I bite twice as hard with my jaw. I've perfected my three-sword-style through years of training so the weight imbalance doesn't matter to me," replied Zoro. Luffy made to raise a finger inquiringly, but slowly put it down, before raising it again a moment later.

"I dunno, Zoro, saying that you've 'perfected' your style makes you sound like the strongest swordsman in the world," said Luffy.

"…and why wouldn't I be? The only reason I've even set out to sea is looking for the strongest, himself. I intend to beat him, whether he appears now or later," declared Zoro.

"What if you aren't the strongest?" asked Luffy. Zoro scowled at him, as if he was challenged.

"I've spent years cutting down the biggest bounties on the East Blue all by myself. I'm pretty strong, ya know," retorted Zoro.

"Key phrase? East Blue. You're in the weakest of the six seas, in case you never knew. I don't know much about this 'strongest swordsman', but I'm sure that he's somewhere deep in the grand line, battling admirals or something. I'm not the type to stomp on someone's dreams, but as my comrade, I sure as hell won't just let you march towards death like that," declared Luffy. Zoro's scowled loosened somewhat.

"You seem like a person who's seen the world," commented Zoro with a small amount of bitterness. Luffy turned around from viewing the ocean to face him, grinning.

"You'd wonder how having story books and two crazy strong guys in your life affect your view on the world," said Luffy. "On another note, toss me an apple from that barrel next to you," said Luffy. Zoro turned his head to his right and picked the apple from the barrel. He threw it towards Luffy who caught it, before taking a huge bite from it. "Trust me, Zoro. In accordance to East Blue standards, you're no cupcake, but that's just it. East blue standards. Remember what I said earlier about auxiliary marines and HQ marines? It's no bullshit, and it's coming from a guy who has enough scars from a crazy marine grandfather,"

"Your grandfather was a marine?" asked Zoro in bafflement.

"'Was'? I dunno where you got that past tense from, the guy still. Is. A. Marine! He also isn't someone like Morgan. Let me ask you something, does the name 'Garp the fist' mean absolutely anything to you?" asked Luffy. At that exact moment, before Luffy dropped the bombshell, Zoro was chugging sake, but when Luffy revealed who his father was, Zoro simultaneously choked on the sake while doing a spit take. A few coughs later, Zoro was able to speak.

"Your grandfather is Garp the fist," said Zoro in an attempt to rationalize the idea. "And you're a pirate, and not just anyone! A pirate who is actively seeking to become the pirate king, even though your grandfather was the exact same guy who, get this, CAPTURED THE LAST KNOWN PIRATE KING!" Zoro yelled. "Although in retrospect, I guess I should have known, what with your names and all. Monkey D. Garp, and his grandson Monkey D. Luffy. What's next, is your father Monkey D. Dragon?" asked Zoro, but a moment later, he grimaced. "Please tell me your father isn't the Dragon the revolutionary…" pleaded Zoro. Luffy simply scratched his head, unknowingly.

"Who's he?" asked Luffy in genuine curiosity. "My gramps never really told me about my dad, mostly since I never really asked," said Luffy. Zoro let out a breath he didn't know he was holding relieved by the news.

"At this point, I won't even be surprised if that actually happens to be the case," commented Zoro. "I'm also inclined to trust your instinct, seeing as how you've been on the business end of The Fist's fist. Tell me, though. How far am I from him?" asked Zoro. Luffy thought about this, but he had inconclusive data to work with, as he didn't know Zoro's full capabilities yet.

"Zoro, are you able to cut through eight mountains just to warm up for a fight?" asked Luffy. Zoro donned a flat expression.

"Say what?"

"Are you able to cut through eight mountains, period? I'm being really generous here, since Gramps actually pulverized the mountains instead of just cutting them," said Luffy. "with nothing but his … fists," Luffy convulsed as he said fist. He'd been on the painful end of way too many fists of love, and who could blame him from having some post-traumatic stress tendencies?

"I assume that he told you this, right?" asked Zoro, deadpanning.

"Yup,"

"And you didn't call bullshit, why?" asked Zoro.

"I did, though. I wish I didn't because then he dragged me to the top of the highest hill in Dawn island, and made me watch as he punched the peak downwards, creating a massive whole, which I assume lead to the mantle layer beneath the earth's crust since smoke started coming out of it nonstop from then on, and if I squinted my eyes enough, I could see some lava slowly surfacing from the bottomless hole. No. Bullshit," said Luffy.

"…I'm nowhere near the strongest, am I…?" asked Zoro.

"Not even close. BUT! Our journey has just begun. If you spend most of it training, by the time we reach the second half of the grand line, you'll be a beast among beasts!" said Luffy in an attempt to comfort the somewhat crestfallen swordsman. It did work, however. With a smirk signifying that he had recovered, Zoro was now more pumped than ever.

"Eight mountains? You've rocked my world already, Luffy. I didn't even know that was possible. If that old coot can still pack some heat while pushing eighty, I better be able to cut twice that amount of mountains at some point in the near future," said Zoro as he looked towards the horizon. "The grand line, huh? Man I'm almost shaking in anticipation," said Zoro. Luffy smiled at hearing those words. Although the pain induced from Garp's infrequent visits was still somehow fresh in Luffy's mind, he still wanted to be the pirate king, and he therefore wanted his crewmates to be strong.

"So tell me, then. How much strength trickled down from The Fist into his grandson?" asked Zoro. Luffy sighed.

"A marginal amount. That douchebag never really bothered to train me. What he did, though? Throw me into the jungle with nothing but a knife and the clear order to 'survive, brat!'" Luffy managed to almost perfectly imitate his grandfather when he said the last part. "I know how to fend of wild animals and stuff, so I got that going for me, which is nice,". For a fleeting moment, Roronoa Zoro, the blood-thirsty pirate hunter, actually felt a wave of pity wash over himself at hearing his captain's devastating past. "Things did get better, I found two brothers, had adventures, ate a devil fruit-"

"Wowowowowow, pause for a second. A devil fruit? How come I didn't see the powers when you were fighting?" asked Zoro.

"Then you weren't really paying attention, where you? I ate the think think fruit, so I'm a perception human," said Luffy.

"…care to explain?"

"You know when you're in a really intense swordfight, and time goes slower as you fight, but to an onlooker, things seem to go really fast? I can basically do that whenever I want. Speed up, slow down, that's basically it," said Luffy. Zoro thought about this.

"Well, I can see how it'd be useful. I guess you also can't swim, then,"

"I'll sink like a hammer,"

"Point taken," Zoro noted. Eventually, the duo spotted a giant bird soaring through the sky. Luffy had the good idea of rowing after wherever it was flying, as birds only either went to the ocean to die, or they were close to the shore, and that was definitely where the bird might have been heading. With both Luffy and Zoro on the oars, rowing was a cinch, and they had eventually spotted land. Close to the shore, three unfortunate men were doing their best to keep afloat. As Luffy and Zoro raced their boat, the unfortunate sods could only hope to grab onto the boat and climb in, but when they did, they revealed their murderous intentions, which were swiftly taken care of by Zoro. As a result, the duo had acquired three friendly rowers.

Once they docked the boat, they had ordered the three friendly rowers to guard it as they went out to explore the seemingly abandoned township. As Zoro advanced into the town, he stopped to look back at his captain, who was seemingly analysing the area.

"Pirate invasion," stated Luffy. Zoro raised an eyebrow. "The reason why there's no one around is probably because pirates invaded it," then he looked back at the port. There was a big ship there which carried the sign of the Buggy pirates. "and if that jolly roger is of any indication, then this town has most certainly been taken over by pirates,"

"Ya know, Luffy, it's really hard to keep up between you switching between being dumb and just freakishly smart," said Zoro. "Eh, it's all good so long as I get something to cut," Zoro smirked as he fiddled the handle of his prized sword, Wado Ichimonji.

As the two headed out, they encountered three suspicious looking fellows surrounding a girl. Feeling curious, he ran towards the three in order to hear what they were talking about.

"…as a matter of fact, hi boss, how are you doing?!" asked the girl, looking towards Luffy's general directions. The three goons looked back and saw him. They each drew their swords as the girl turned tail and fled. Luffy was nonetheless confused.

"If it isn't the boss thief?"

"I say we cut him up to pieces, and then we gift him to captain Buggy!"

"Good idea," said the third. Luffy didn't flinch, and was instead waiting for them to attack. As the first one swung, Luffy quickly drew his knife and cleaved straight through the sword and slashed the man's chest before he fell to the ground. The second one charged towards Luffy, who slammed his knife straight into the man's shoulder, not bothering to take it out as the man fell. The third man was punched with a mean hook to the cheek, making him spit out his chipped teeth before falling to the ground. Luffy turned around to pull his knife out from the second pirate's shoulder, and cleaned the blade using the pirate's shirt.

Meanwhile, the girl who had fled couldn't help but stare at awe at what the young man had done, which seemed to have occupied around ten seconds.

"Hey! You're really strong!" said the girl. She was at the top of a house. Luffy couldn't help but wonder how she got at the top of it so quickly. Luffy frowned, annoyed.

"That was really mean, you know!" yelled Luffy indignantly. The girl jumped off from the rooftop and landed smoothly as she faced Luffy.

"Wanna team up? I could use some muscle, and we could share the treasure that we find," said the girl, who seemed to have ignored Luffy's complaints. Luffy thought about this for a moment.

"First of all, who are you?" asked Luffy as he picked his nose.

"I'm a thief who only steals treasure from pirates. If you join up with me, we'd make quite an amount of coin together," said the girl. "The name's Umi," she said. Zoro was catching up to Luffy just at this moment.

"Sounds like a fake name," said Luffy bluntly. The girl couldn't help but recoil at what he had said.

"…Fine! The name's Nami," admitted the girl, albeit with reluctance. Zoro nudged Luffy.

"Who's the girl?" he asked.

"She says her name is Nami. She's a thief who only steals treasure from pirates, or so she says," replied Luffy. "Oh, and Nami, was it? I'm sorry, but I can't team up with you," stated Luffy. Luffy continued walking deeper into the town, along with Zoro who was by his side.

"W-wait!" yelled Nami as she approached Luffy. "Could I see your knife?" she asked. Luffy turned around to face the pleading thief. With much reluctance, he gave in.

"Alright, fine, but the blade's really sharp, so try not to cut yourself on it," said Luffy. He unsheathed the blade strapped on his back, beneath his shirt and showed it to Nami, who grabbed the handle gently.

"Genuine mahogany wood, golden finish on the hilt, and is that stainless steel?" asked Nami. Luffy shook his head.

"Nope, it's sea prism stone," said Luffy. Nami almost dropped the knife at the mention of that rare mineral.

"Sea prism stone?! These things are worth their weight in diamonds!" she all but yelled. "This thing could probably fetch at least twenty-five million berries if I sell it!" she drooled as began quivering. Luffy took the knife back, careful not to cut the girl's fingers of.

"Not for sale. I like it, so I'd miss it if I sold it," stated Luffy. Nami groaned.

"Aw, come on!" pleaded Nami. Despite her continuous attempts, Luffy didn't budge.

-x-

"What do you mean the map to the grand line was stolen?!" yelled the one and only, Captain Buggy of the buggy pirates. The overweight man that stood before him was almost shaking in fear.

"No, it was actually a really dumb mistake. The guy who put it inside the safe left the key inside of it, so the thief just had to turn the key and take the map out. It was a really dumb mistake, though. Everyone around knows that!"

"WHAT?! Did you just say that I have 'A round nose'?!" seethed Buggy, fiddling furiously with his dagger.

"W-what?! No, I said 'everyone AROUND KNOWS'! I dread to think what would happen if I insulted you like that," said the unfortunate crewmember. Buggy's veins gained even more prominence now.

"And now you say that it's RED?! I have a RED AND ROUND NOSE?!" yelled Buggy.

"No, no! I said dread-" unfortunately, the overweight crewmate was interrupted by a disembodied hand which clutched onto the man's neck, lifting him up.

"Load the cannon! Make this man's death flashy!" said Buggy. As the crewmates loaded the cannon with a cannonball, they fired at the man just as Buggy had released him from his grip. "Recover the map, and take everything that isn't nailed down, and if you find something that is nailed down, YANK THE NAILS OFF, YOU DIRTY BASTARDS!" yelled Buggy. His entire crew broke out into a cacophony of howls and shouts just as the cannonball exploded on the poor and misheard crewmate.

-x-

"Is this your house, Nami?" asked Luffy curiously as he circulated the house in search of anything useful.

"Nope. Everyone around has already evacuated the town since the Buggy pirates had invaded it," said Nami.

"You know what they call that where I'm from? Breaking and entering," said Zoro flatly. Nami scoffed at him.

"Come on! Like you guys have any other options," said Nami.

"Uhm, yeah, we do! We'll just go kick this Buggy guy's ass and take all of his treasure," said Luffy like it was something of exceptional obviousness.

"I second that," said Zoro while he polished his blade with a cotton ball.

"Oh please. I guess you are strong, but Buggy's most likely stronger. Pirates are as strong as they are despicable," retorted Nami. Zoro smirked.

"Do you even know who we are, lady?" asked Zoro. Luffy pulled his hat down to shade his eyes.

"We're pirates, Nami," said Luffy. For Nami, it seemed that the temperature dropped by a good ten degrees. She took a step back, waving her hands.

"Forget that we had this conversation. I don't want to team up with any of you," declared Nami adamantly as she headed for the door.

"Oh, come on. We're in need of a navigator so join our crew," said Luffy. Nami stopped dead in her tracks.

"…How do you know that I'm a good navigator?" asked Nami, now visibly sweating. Zoro chuckled at the question.

"Anyone who knows even an iota of navigation knows twice as much as both I and Luffy combined," said Zoro.

"What he said. Although we didn't know that you were a 'good' navigator. Eh, now we want you even more!" affirmed Luffy. Nami turned around to grab Luffy by his collar.

"Forget it, pirate! I hate pirates with utter passion. There are only two things I like in this world: Money and Tangerines," said Nami. Luffy raised an eyebrow in disappointment.

"C'mon, just join us," continued Luffy.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!" cried Nami as he smacked Luffy on the head, making his straw hat fall. Just as it was about to fall, Luffy grabbed it and pushed Nami away. "You're a pirate and a brute?!" yelled Nami indignantly. Luffy frowned at Nami in genuine anger.

"Don't you dare touch my hat. It's my treasure," said Luffy. Nami's interest was suddenly piqued.

"Treasure, huh? Are you hiding a treasure map inside it?" she asked. Luffy shook his head.

"A friend gave it to me ages ago. He told me to give it back to him once I hit it big," said Luffy, now donning his trademark smile. He turned his gaze towards Nami. "Alright, let's make a deal. I'll kick Buggy's ass and take all of his treasure, and if I do that, you get to keep the treasure, but you'll have to join my crew. Does that seem fair?" asked Luffy. Zoro raised an eyebrow at Luffy's decision, but withheld any argument.

Nami, however, thought about this for a moment. She only needed around thirteen million berries before she hit the coveted hundred million berry mark, and by then she'd achieved her goal. If she took Buggy's treasure and ventured out to the grand line from there, she could very well reach her goal, and still have a butt load to spare. It's settled, then.

"Deal!" said Nami.

"Then it's settled. Welcome to the crew, Nami," said Luffy, and there it was. Luffy's wide grin, which promised greatness. Although Zoro had only seen it once before, it was still one of his deciding factors in joining the crew. For all the happiness that Luffy was exuding, Zoro still couldn't help but have to keep an eye on her. After all, if someone's sole motivation is money, then are they really to be trusted?

Nevertheless, the unlikely trio set out to confront and defeat Buggy and steal all of his treasures.

-x-

"Captain Buggy! Captain Buggy!" yelled Buggy's trusted announcer. He was an odd looking fellow with a perfectly circular head and thick lips.

"Yes, yes! I'm right next to you, Bobo!" snapped Buggy. The big mouthed fellow, Bobo, was actually right next to Buggy, and he had a tendency of being unable to judge the appropriate volume of his voice based on his distance from his intended recipient.

"The thief returned with her two friends,"

"Two friends?! You said there were only one, but now there are three?!" asked Buggy, incredulously. Bobo was pointing at the door.

"Should we let them in?" asked Bobo.

"Why the hell haven't ANY OF YOU done ANYTHING to defeat them when you knew where they were?!" yelled Buggy, visibly vexed. Bobo gulped.

"We did, sir-" Bobo was shortly interrupted by the door flying towards the diminutive figure, pushing him down. The three figures entered the outlook that Buggy had called his base when he had arrived. The first one wore a strawhat which looked oddly similar to his despicable rival's, with the red sash and everything. His attire looked like an awful mix between formal and informal. He wore a tie and long sleeves, but he wore short jeans.

"Now… which one of you is Buggy the clown?" asked Luffy. Buggy smirked at the boy's request, but wasted no time standing up from his throne.

"That would be me," replied Buggy. "Are you the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, after my head I suppose?" asked Buggy. Zoro perked up before pointing his thumb at himself while grinning.

"That would be me. Don't worry, though. I'm not after your head since I'm no longer a bounty hunter," said Zoro.

"Oh, but that matters little to me. If I take your head, _I_ will be boosting my own reputation," explained Buggy.

"Your fight is with me, clown. Captain to captain," declared Luffy adamantly. Buggy scoffed.

"Hn, very well, then. If you want to rush into death, who am I to stop you?" asked Buggy. Luffy smirked. Buggy flicked his hands, summoning eight knifes tucked between each his fingers. Luffy reached for his back inside his shirt and pulled out his sword.

Buggy remained still, waiting for Luffy to attack, seeing as how he'd be using a knife. Luffy, however, obliged him. Luffy dashed towards the unmoving clown rapidly. With a single slash across his chest, Buggy bled profusely. He fell to the floor, semi-unconscious as blood was pooling inside his mouth. Luffy shook the knife in the air to get rid of the blood as the entirety of the clown's crew stared at him with utter awe and shock.

"CAPTAIN BUGGYYYY?!" they all yelled in unison. They were used to seeing him simply brush of slicing attacks by reassembling himself using his devil fruit powers, but he never bled once he was sectioned. As Buggy spat blood from his mouth, he stared at the blade, reflecting a ray of sunshine directly into his eyes.

"Is that… ARGH… sea p-prism…" whatever he would say would have to wait after he woke up, seeing as how he had lost consciousness. Both his lieutenants Mohji the lion tamer and Cabaji the acrobat lunged for their prone captain. With much relief, they realized that he was alive. Luffy was at a complete loss.

"This guy really wasn't that weak, now was he?" asked Luffy as he looked the sharp edge of his knife. Zoro couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, and neither could Nami.

"It was like… he didn't even try to dodge. He just stood there and took it," added Zoro. Cabaji glared daggers at the swordsman who had just spoken.

"What kind of dirty tricks did you pull?! CAPTAIN BUGGY IS IMMUNE TO SHARP ATTACKS!" yelled the circus-themed acrobat.

"How so?" asked Nami.

"He ate a devil fruit known as the Chop Chop fruit! He's a sectioning man, so no matter how you look at it, you shouldn't have been able to cut him!" yelled Mohji. Suddenly, Luffy realized what was wrong.

"Sucks that I was using sea prism stone, then, huh? It's a mineral that nullifies devil fruit abilities," said Luffy. Both Mohji and Cabaji staggered.

"N-nullifies devil fruit abilities?" they both repeated. Luffy nodded.

"Aaalrighty, then. Let's make this quick. Hand over all of your treasure, and this will run smoothly. Also, would you also mind getting the hell out of this island?" said Nami, her bo staff straightened to its maximum.

"NEVER!" yelled both Mohji and Cabaji. Luffy pulled out his gun and aimed at the oversized Lion which was looming over the beast tamer. With three shots into its legs, the lion was effectively neutralized. Zoro drew all of his katana in response to Cabaji and clashed swords with him, but due to their difference in strength, the poor acrobat fell. At this, the still-conscious Buggy pirates carried their lieutenants and ran to their ship while Bobo left the trio a big bag of treasure.

"Success!" yelled Nami, raising her hands in the air.

"Oh, please. That was probably the biggest disappointment of the year. That was hardly even a fight," commented Zoro. Luffy agreed.

"Yeah. What a bummer, and after that awesome fight I had with Morgan, I'd be too lucky to have another proper fight right afterwards," commented Luffy. Nami was too engulfed in her copious amounts of treasure to really care, until Luffy confronted her with a question that he had in his mind.

"Hey, Nami. Why do you love money so much?" asked Luffy. Nami practically had berry-signs replacing her eyes as she counted the loot.

"I'm gonna buy a village," said Nami. Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"…but why?" he asked. Nami snapped out of her daze and gave Luffy a somewhat cold glare.

"That's none of your business, 'Monkey D. Luffy'- and you said my fake name sounded fake – alright, I'll bite. What's your real name," asked Nami. Luffy raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Monkey D. Luffy," replied Luffy.

"Your surname is 'Monkey'? Yeah, and my surname is Unicorn," replied Nami. "and what the hell is the D. short for?" asked Nami. Luffy frowned.

"Hey, that's my name you're messing around with," said Luffy indignantly. "I dunno what the D. stands for but that's really my name, Unicorn Nami," said Luffy. Nami had to facepalm at the boy's seemingly feigned ignorance.

"My name isn't Unicorn. Alright, fine, then. If that's your name, then I guess I have to apologize," replied Nami with no small amount of bitterness. With no further ado, the trio had taken to load two of their ships with all of the treasures that Buggy had left upon his crew's departure, with totalled at a whooping amount of fifteen million. This seemed like a very lucrative business venture for Nami, and since she had already reached her goal, she just needed to tag along with Luffy until her allotted faring time comes to an end and she is wanted in Arlong Park.

-x-

After announcing to the townspeople that their town was liberated, and having accepted their food supplies, the trio set out to the next island that the waves would carry them to.

"Oh, Luffy, I almost forgot to ask. What comes next?" asked Zoro.

"The Grand Line. First, I'll need some kind of cook and a musician, and maybe even a doctor. Whether I find them in the Grand Line or in the East Blue doesn't mean much, really," said Luffy.

"Why a musician?" asked Nami.

"Pirates love music, so it's only natural that we have someone do that as a fulltime job, right?" asked Luffy. Neither Zoro nor Nami could find any words to object. "We also need some strong people, too. Lots of 'em, just like Shanks' crew," said Luffy.

"Who the heck is Shanks?" asked Nami.

"He was the really awesome guy who gave me this hat," replied Luffy as he held the brim of his hat.

"As long as we don't just go pillaging or raping, I'm fine with whatever," replied Nami. Luffy couldn't help but laugh as he glanced towards the endless horizon. At that exact moment, Luffy hadn't a single care in his world. He was utterly free of frustration and stress, as the ocean seemed to have swallowed it all with one gulp. A wide smile stretched over his face, revealing two white rows of teeth reflecting the light of the setting sun.

"Don't you get it, Nami?! Being a pirate is much more than just finding treasures!" yelled Luffy jovially. Nami frowned.

"What's gotten into you?" asked Nami. Luffy leaned over to look into the sea, scooping up a handful of water before throwing it on Nami.

"The ocean has. Now some of it's gotten into you, too!" replied Luffy. Nami, while scowling at Luffy, lightened up and threw her own handful of water at the boy, who dodged it, allowing the water to hit Zoro, waking him up from his stupor.

"D-damn witch!" he yelled as he took his own handful and threw it towards Nami.

The trio descended into a full-blown water fight which ended in them having to throw buckets of water out of the boat lest they capsize to a larger than average wave. As the sun set, Nami was the last to sleep. Glancing at her newfound crewmates, she was happy to have found friends, but alas, like every other partnership she had formed in her line of work, it would inevitably have to come to an end.


	5. Chapter 4 - Usopp, The Lying Sniper!

**Chapter 4 - Usopp, the Sniper**

The trio of pirates were still sailing, resting as their boat inched itself closer and closer to their destination. While Zoro slept as usual, Nami was delegated the task of keeping the boat afloat and on the right direction. Luffy spent most of his time observing her.

"Nami?" asked Luffy. Without averting her eyes from her map, she replied to Luffy.

"Yeah?"

"Why is the ocean blue?" asked Luffy. Nami shrugged.

"The ocean is made of water, and water is colourless. The water only reflects the colour of the sky," replied Nami. Luffy held his chin as he thought for another moment.

"…If water reflects the colour of the sky, why is the sky blue in the first place?" asked Luffy.

"Hmm, that's a toughy. It confused even me when I was a kid. Alright, listen. Do you know of the visible light spectrum?" asked Nami. Luffy nodded slowly.

"Hmmm," Luffy thought for a moment. Smoke was almost visibly coming out of his ears as he thought. "It's the… colours of the rainbow, right…? I dunno," groused Luffy. Nami gave a thumbs-up.

"Correct," she commented. "Alright, the molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more than any of the other colours. This makes the sky look blue because that's the kind of light that enters your eyes when you look into the sky, though that's mostly because if light strikes us ninety degrees perpendicular to our surface, the scattered light will be blue. A sharper angle would make it red, which is why sunrises and sunsets make the sky red.

"The water is only blue because it reflects the light from the blue sky, and notice that when the sky is clouded, the ocean also isn't as blue as it normally is," said Nami. Luffy nodded pensively.

"Fascinating," commented Luffy. Nami grinned as she nodded.

"Hell yeah, it is. Meteorology is my passion," said Nami as she looked to the sky. Luffy scratched his head.

"The study of meteors? What does that have anything to do with the sky being blue?" asked Luffy. Nami sighed for a moment.

"Meteorology is the study of weather. It might sound like a misnomer, but it really isn't. It is what it is, I guess," said Nami.

"So you can predict the weather? Awesome," said Luffy as he beamed. Nami waved dismissively as she donned a flattered grin.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," she repeated, revelling in the complement, nose in the air with a triumphant grin. "I am the navigator, after all," she added.

"I knew I made the right choice when I picked you. After we get enough money to buy that village, you'll navigate our ship to the end of the grand line, right?" said Luffy. Nami was caught off-guard on the last part, but shook it off swiftly before giving her temporary captain a warm smile.

"Of course, Luffy," reassured Nami. Luffy pumped his fist in the air joyfully.

"Awesome!" he yelled. Zoro would have woken up if he was any normal human being, but it wasn't just his strength that was supernatural. He could sleep through a typhoon.

"Buuut first we'll need a ship. If we're going to the grand line, we better at least have a ship and a decent amount of crewmates to actually operate the ship. Did you think of any of this, Luffy?" asked Nami. Luffy nodded.

"Eeyup, and I do have a plan: Wing It!" proclaimed Luffy, earning a mild smack at the back of his head from a seething Nami.

"OUR LIVES ARE ON THE LINE, HERE!" yelled Nami indignantly.

"I know," replied Luffy, still grinning. "I knew that, the moment I set out to the sea. My crewmates are my family, and there isn't a thing I won't do to make them happy, no matter what. Your life may be on the line if you stick with me, but I wouldn't waste a single second switching places with any of you if you're in danger, if I could. I also did set out to have an adventure, so planning everything out from the get-go wouldn't really be fun. I'm not the type to plan for the long haul," said Luffy. Nami calmed down at that, but couldn't help but wonder at the boy's diamond-hard resolve to protect his crewmates. Nami had already been proven wrong in that all pirates were bad people, but now the boy in front of her was likely the most pure-hearted person she has ever encountered. Nami could do nought but nod, satisfied with Luffy's answer.

Nami glanced at her map once again. Their next stop would be Gecko island. It would be a day's journey northwards, and it would also be a good spot for them to restock. Since the previous island they visited, the Island of strange animals, had only fruits and no meat, Luffy was itching to get his share of meat.

-x-

"Strange… I get the feeling that we're being watched, for some reason," commented Zoro as he took a tentative step onto the beach of the shore they had just landed in.

Immediately when land was spotted, Luffy went full-throttle with the oars, rowing his crew as quickly as he could to the shore, which was surprisingly fast, especially when they had tailwind to aid them.

Luffy analysed the terrain. Ahead of them was a beach which lay ahead of a high cliff. A little ways eastward was a slope which led into the island. Luffy, too, had the feeling that they were being watched.

After a few steps onto the beach, Luffy and Zoro's suspicions were confirmed in the form of a lead ball being catapulted towards Luffy. Whoever shot it wasn't using a pistol, but rather a slingshot, which would explain why the person's aim was so true, but why the projectile was slow-moving. Flintlocks tended to have abysmal accuracy, and few guns did have good accuracy, no matter how skilled the shooter was.

Nonetheless, Luffy slashed the lead-ball mid-air, letting it fly past himself harmlessly, but taking care not to deflect them towards his crewmates.

"We aren't here to fight!" yelled Nami towards the greenery at the top of the cliff. A scoff could be heard from whoever was hiding.

"I will ask only one question. Are you pirates?" asked the loud and booming voice. Before Nami could even reply, Luffy beat her to the punch.

"Yes," replied Luffy, earning a dope-slap from Nami.

"IDIOT!" she yelled. Luffy bobbed his head back after she had smacked it forwards, waving it off like it never happened.

"I am afraid," began the disembodied voice. "That you are not allowed to enter this island, or else my eighty million minions will rain HELL UPON YOU! RETREAT WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE, PIRATES!" yelled the voice. Luffy frowned, somewhat annoyed.

"Don't wanna," he said.

"You're lying, aren't you?" asked Nami, deadpanning.

"We almost fell for that trick earlier yesterday by some Jack-in-a-box. Trust me, we're not falling for it again," said Zoro. The events that had transpired during their time in the Island of strange animals were still fresh in their minds.

"Alright, I guess eighty million is a stretch, but my men are many, for I am the great captain Usopp! OBSERVE!" yelled the voice as a multitude of black pirate flags rose out of the bushes and began waving. A teenaged boy also came out of the bushes. He had a long nose and had a slingshot in his hand.

The motion of the flags did seem odd as the flags seemed to be waving in three distinct groups, with their own fixed motions. It didn't take a genius to figure out that there were only three people behind the bushes, controlling their own set of flags, but before Luffy could comment, Nami spoke up.

"Are three people many on this island?" asked Nami, deadpanning. 'Captain' Usopp gasped.

"How did you know?" he mumbled. Nami smirked.

"You just told me," she said, teasing the young boy.

"Hey, you're Yasopp's son, aren't you?" asked Luffy. Usopp perked up, startled by his father's name.

"You knew my father?" asked Usopp, visibly surprised.

"Yeah! He's in Shanks' crew! He's the best sniper I've ever seen, but I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh?" asked Luffy, chuckling as he crossed his arms. Usopp gulped.

"You are hereby welcome to enter the island. Let me take all of you out for some lunch, seems good?" asked Usopp. Luffy nodded, gleefully.

-x-

"…He is that good?" asked Usopp as he munched on his food. Luffy nodded vigorously.

"I didn't believe it at first…" Luffy paused to take another bite from his meat. "But then he showed me. He put his apple on the top of a short post and ran fifty yards away from it. He turned around and with only a swift glance, he shot the tip of the stalk off after telling me that he was going to do just that!" said Luffy, throwing his hands in the air dramatically.

"Wow, this Yasopp guy seems really skilled," commented Nami. Usopp had to nod.

"All this time I thought he was an above average pirate, but for him to be in the Red-hair crew… that's crazy beyond belief," said Usopp.

"Usopp, if you're such a good sniper, why don't you just use a gun?" asked Zoro. Usopp paused from eating and donned a smug smile, causing the swordsman to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Hehe, you, my friend, obviously don't know much about guns, do you? A regular old flintlock seems well and deadly… if you're ten yards away from your enemy, that is. I'd love to use guns, but the sad fact of the matter remains that most of 'em are as accurate as a blind man playing darts. The gunpowder is too messy, the barrel is too inconsistent in its structure, and it's a real hassle to carry all those bullets, too. If some of you are still confused, visualize this.

"Loading a flintlock means shoving your round deep into the barrel from your muzzle, or 'seating' the round. If the round is a perfect fit, i.e the same calibre of the gun, the bullet would fire more accurately, but at the cost of slightly dirtying the barrel, and crazy recoil. What most people do, therefore, is add rounds that are slightly smaller in calibre than the barrel, and simply fire. The recoil is easier, but since the bullet is fitted loosely, there's really no telling where it'll fly once it exits the barrel! Thus the bullet is left careening whichever angle it exited the muzzle. In short distance, that isn't a problem, but you're looking at a sniper. Of course it's a problem for me.

"Make no mistake, a flintlock could be made accurate. With the right granulation of the black powder, amount of black powder, the lead alloy, calibre of the bullet, lubrication, and a whole lot of other factors, it sure as hell could be made accurate, but at the end of the day, I don't have access to any of those things," said Usopp as he shrugged. "They do have their limits, though, which brings me to wonder how in the world my father managed to pull off such sniping," said Usopp as he held his chin contemplatively.

"He said he got it made in the grand line," provided Luffy. Usopp nodded while he pointed at Luffy.

"The grand line, although a crazy place, does have its fair share of technology… but alas, I'll have to settle for my trusty _Galaxy Slingshot_ ," proclaimed Usopp as he lifted his green, stylized slingshot in the air.

Luffy had an idea just then. He nudged Usopp a little, gaining his attention.

"Usopp, you're a really cool guy. I like you. After getting some crewmembers into my crew, we're heading to the grand line. Wanna join my crew?" asked Luffy. Usopp choked on his food and began coughing. He hammered his chest a few times before regaining his composure.

"Urgh, I'll have to respectfully decline," said Usopp. Luffy pouted.

"Why?" whined Luffy. Usopp sighed shortly before explaining himself.

"I have my purpose here. There's this rich girl that lives at the top of the hill northwards. A year ago, her parents both died of sickness, and she's been depressed ever since. My stories help her cope, and whenever she laughs, that just proves that it's working," began Usopp. He rested his head on his hand as he stared at the table contemplatively. "As long as she laughs at my stories, well, that's good enough for me," said Usopp. Nami couldn't help but smile fondly.

"She's rich? Could she help us with a ship, then? We're planning on sailing the grand line, you know, so we need a ship to carry us," said Luffy. Usopp thought about this for a moment.

"The best shot you'll have is if I ask her, myself. She doesn't do well with strangers, trust me, it took some time before she got used to me when I began telling her my stories," said Usopp. "Alright, you wait here and finish your meals. I'll go talk to her, and you'll follow once you're done eating," said Usopp as he stood up and left the establishment. The trio then dug into their food before they set out to wherever the mansion was located.

After Nami asked for directions, they headed towards the high hill overlooking the mansion. Just as they arrived, they saw a high fence. Beyond it, Usopp sat on a tree branch, apparently conversing with his friend who was in her room.

"Hey, Usopp!" yelled Luffy as he waved to his new friend. Usopp waved back.

"Great, you're just in time!" yelled Usopp back. "I was just talking about you people," said Usopp. Luffy held the two bars in front of him and crouched down before jumping high. He climbed over the fence with ease, leaving his two disgruntled crewmates behind.

"Oh, hey! Yeah, so I was wondering if you could help my crew with a ship, but it has to be up to grand line standards, alright?" asked Luffy. Just as Kaya was to reply, a certain person waltzed into the scene.

"Ah, if it isn't the 'great captain Usopp', town liar and the spawn of a sea rat," commented the impeccably dressed gentleman. Usopp glared at the man before launching a hook to another tree branch as he jumped down from the tree. The hook retracted into Usopp's pocket as he stepped towards the offending man.

"What did you say about my father?" asked Usopp, glaring daggers at him.

"I called him a sea rat, but I think even that's an insult to real rats. He's pirate scum, nothing more, nothing less," said the man. The sick girl, Kaya, stared at her caretaker in shock.

"Klahadore! That's no way to treat my best friend!" she yelled indignantly. Klahadore scoffed at her, slightly.

"Please, Miss Kaya. Your judgement must be lacking if you see a friend in this troublemaking hooligan," retorted Klahadore. "He's the son of a pirate. The moment your honourable and loved parents passed away, this idiot began seeking your favour. Can't you see it, Miss Kaya? He wants your estate!" he turned his attention towards Usopp who stood right in front of him. "Is it money that you want? How much?" mocked Klahadore.

"That's enough, Klahadore!" yelled Kaya. Both Usopp and the caretaker ignored the shouts of the young girl.

"You're the worst of them all, you know. You lie and you are the son of a pirate. Why don't you do what you do best and simply lie about who your father really is? You make no sense, boy-" what interrupted Klahadore's tirade was a hefty punch planted into his cheek, knocking him to the ground.

"I may be a liar, but don't you _dare_ suggest that I lie about who my father really is! I don't care that you think all pirates are scum. I don't care about your worldview at all. All I know is that my father is a brave man, and you're a fraction of the man he'll ever be!" yelled Usopp at the top of his lungs. Luffy yelled, cheering for Usopp. Klahadore adjusted his glasses with the base of his palms before he stood up.

"This is what I'm trying to prove, Miss Kaya. Usopp is a ruffian. He has no place in your company, and he just proved that when all else fails, he resorts to violence. I am doing this for your own good, Miss Kaya," said Klahadore. Kaya was too shocked to even say anything as she held her mouth. "I want you and your red crony out of this land right this instant, or suffer the consequences," said Klahadore. Luffy glared daggers at the butler who simply scoffed in return. "Or are you _also_ going to attack me, straw hat boy?" asked the butler. Just as Luffy was about to oblige him, Usopp stretched out his arm, barring Luffy from continuing onwards.

"It's not worth it. Let's just get the hell out of here," mumbled Usopp. Luffy heard him and simply nodded. "You don't have to tell me twice, _butler!_ This is the last you'll ever see of me," stated Usopp as he headed for the exit.

As the two walked down a long and winding path towards the shore, Luffy could sense that his friend was obviously conflicted.

"You're a bad liar, Usopp," commented Luffy. Usopp sighed before nodding.

"Well, I guess I am. No way in hell I'm never coming back. Kaya is my friend… I won't abandon her like that," admitted Usopp. As they arrived at the shore, they both sat on the top of the cliff facing the ocean.

"You know… I actually want to set out to the sea…" said Usopp.

"You can come with me, you know," said Luffy.

"I want to. I really do, but I've already told you. I've got my purpose here," said Usopp. Before he argued any further, two weird figures met up on the beach. One of them was Klahadore while the other was a rather eccentric-looking person who seemed to be back-tracking towards Klahadore. He had an oddly square and long goatee and had heart-shaped glasses.

"I was actually expecting to find you sleeping somewhere along the road, but I'm pleasantly surprised that you kept your incompetence to a minimum," said Klahadore, apparently his version of a compliment. Both Usopp and Luffy were laying low as they observed the two.

"I am the paragon of work ethics, captain," said the eccentric disco-enthusiast as he inexplicably performed some obscure dance-moves.

"Let's keep this sweet and short. Tomorrow, to the east of the rising sun, at dawn. Have my men ready. One last thing, though. Do you know your part in this plan?" asked Klahadore.

"Of course, Captain Kuro-" he said before a deathly glare stopped him from continuing his speech. Kuro's scowl was valley deep, and his eyes looked almost too wild, like a black panther eying his prey with pure bloodlust.

"Don't you dare utter my former name so brazenly. I left it years ago, and I don't intend on picking it up again," said Kuro. Jango gulped.

"O-of course, sir. I am s-supposed to hypnotize the rich girl into writing her will, directing all her family's funds to you, and then I kill her," he said, easing Kuro's scowl to simple distaste instead of pure vitriol.

"Good. At least I can trust you to know that much. Go on, now. Get out of my sight," ordered Kuro. Jango gulped once again before turning tail and running off. Kuro turned his back on him and crouched down as though readying himself for a sprint. After a split second, he vanished. Luffy's eyes darted up in utter surprise.

"What the heck?! He just disappeared!" yelled Usopp in disbelief. Luffy held his chin contemplatively.

 _This is just like what gramps used to do… I forgot the name for the technique…_ thought Luffy.

"Um… cut…? Trim…?" mumbled Luffy to himself, under his breath. Usopp shook Luffy's shoulder with his hand in worry.

"Did you hear that?! He's Captain Kuro! He was a notorious pirate that was publicly executed three years ago by firing squad! How is he still here?!" lamented Usopp.

"It's called sending a decoy. The foolish marines couldn't even tell the difference. They even gave the lieutenant who 'captured' my double a promotion," said Kuro, who was standing behind both the two teenagers. Luffy turned around, frowning, while Usopp looked at the man with utter terror in his eyes.

"I hate to be cliche, but I can't let one of you live, unfortunately. Usopp may be a liar, but I'm not dumb enough to take any chances. As for the strawhat boy, let's make a deal. You kill long-nose and I'll let you live, on account that you won't be running your mouth as I, too, have got leverage on you. Afterwards, leave by daybreak and I won't put a finger on you or your friends," proposed Kuro. Luffy grinned slowly.

"Forget about it," replied Luffy. Kuro clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Five hundred thousand berries then, if you kill Long-nose and leave. It's an ideal agreement if you ask me," persisted Kuro. Luffy stood up slowly to face Kuro.

"My reply remains. I won't kill my friend for money," said Luffy. Usopp let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Kuro scowled angrily.

"Dammit, kiddo, I'm giving you the offer of your lifetime!" said Kuro. Luffy shook his head slowly, a smug smirk plastered across his face.

"Don't wanna. Let me pitch you a deal. Whatever plans you've got will remain unhindered until tomorrow at daybreak. My crew and I will then defeat your crew. Neither I nor Usopp will tell the villagers or Kaya. Before you ask, I can be trusted," said Luffy. Kuro scoffed.

"How am I to believe that?" asked Kuro. Luffy slowly removed his hat before stretching his arm towards Kuro.

"Hold on to my hat until tomorrow morning. If anyone in my crew, me, or Usopp alerts Kaya or the villagers, feel free to destroy it. Don't touch my hat unless I've honored the bargain," said Luffy. Kuro smirked at him.

"What's the value of an old straw hat?" asked Kuro. Luffy lost his grin slowly before donning a more serious expression.

"Watch your tongue, butler. This hat is my most valued belonging. If I even see so much as a scratch on it in the event that I _had honoured_ the bargain, I will kill you, then myself so I can kill you repeatedly in hell," said Luffy in an uncharacteristically frigid tone. Kuro considered this for a moment before pushing his glasses up with the heel of his palms, curling his fingers in the process.

"That deal is as good as any, I guess. You don't look like you're lying," said Kuro as he reached towards the hat, gently pinching the brim of the hat, retracting his hand. Luffy grinned faintly before gesturing Usopp to move along with himself. Kuro then took off in a quick pace.

"Preparations for tomorrow, Usopp. We know where they are landing. East of the rising sun is north, so they will be landing north," said Luffy. Usopp nodded in understanding.

"I'll get some oil and caltrops ready. The moment they land, we pour the oil on the slope, and then we throw caltrops at 'em," said Usopp.

"Good idea. Nami could be the strategian while Zoro could fight in the front lines. This battle is all but won," said Luffy as he began smirking. "...but Usopp. Don't alert the villagers," said Luffy. Usopp scratched his head in confusion.

"Luffy, it's just a hat," said Usopp.

"Red-haired Shanks' hat! He gave it to me ten years ago, when his crew used my village as their base of operations," revealed Luffy. Usopp then felt a pang of guilt from having suggested that.

"Sorry, Luffy," said Usopp in a low voice. Luffy regained his characteristic grin.

"It's fine," said Luffy, as they both walked aimlessly in search for their crewmates.

-x-

"CAPTAIN KURO IS HERE?!" yelled Nami in disbelief. Zoro slapped his hand on her mouth in anger.

"Quiet, witch!" hissed Zoro. The quartet was in the same tavern where they ate their lunch, luckily, few seemed to notice as there were only a couple of patrons, of which both of them was on the other end of the room. The bartender was also inside the kitchen. Luffy nodded.

"Mhm," said Luffy in agreement.

"He had a bounty of sixteen million before he was supposedly executed. What makes you think you could take him?" asked Nami.

"I'm pretty sure I can," replied Luffy, slightly peeved. Zoro nodded in agreement.

"You saw him yourself, Nami. Luffy's been defeating people left and right since I first joined him. I'd bet my left testicle that he had a track record before I even met him," stated Zoro, smirking.

"It's true," confirmed Luffy. "I beat up some old hag who called herself Alvida way before I met you," said Luffy. Zoro glanced at Nami with a wild grin as he pointed towards Luffy.

"See that? He took out Buggy in one slash, too, ya know, so there's no point in worrying about him," affirmed Zoro.

"Bottomline is that I know we can take them on. Whatever the case, don't alert anyone. I've made a deal with Kuro. If anyone says anything about this to anyone but anyone within this circle, he has free reign to do whatever with my hat, and you know how important my hat is to me," said Luffy.

"That explains your hat's absence," commented Nami. Not noticing her comment, Luffy continued.

"Now. Kuro said that his men would be ready by tomorrow at daybreak, at the northern shore where we landed this noon. I'm not sure about this, but I believe that he will attack the village and use the ensuing chaos as a cover in order to assassinate Kaya, but before doing that, he will have his crewmate hypnotize her into writing a will stating that she relinquishes all her family's estate towards her butler upon death. I gleaned that much from the conversation he had with his crewmate," said Luffy. He paused to see if his crewmates were following. They were.

"Our goal is to stop the invasion in its source. Stop the crewmembers from advancing any further into the island. We'll make tomorrow like any other day. Once Kuro arrives, I am to attack him. Zoro takes out the second in command. Nami, you'll be tasked in taking on the grunts. If this is too much for you, you could fall back. Usopp will have you covered, so you won't be alone. Prepare the following for tomorrow. Around two barrels of oil and caltrops. Salvage all your treasure from the boat we docked in the shore, too cuz that's where they'll be landing-" without another word, Nami shaved off, out of the door and towards her precious treasure, perplexing all who witnessed it.

"Continue," urged Usopp. Luffy nodded.

"Right. I also want tripwires and some logs. Finally, I'd like two shovels and a barrel-full of fallen leaves," concluded Luffy. Usopp, who had been nothing this down all along, nodded. Zoro promptly stood up.

"I'll get the logs," he said before walking off into the forest. Usopp followed the example.

"I'll get the caltrops and the oil," said Usopp as he walked out the door. Not long after, Luffy also stood up, before getting called by the bartender.

"Kiddo, aren't you gonna buy anything, or did you use my tavern as a clubhouse? That's gonna cost ya," said the mustachioed bartender gruffly. Luffy sighed.

"C'mon, uncle. I ate lunch here earlier," pouted Luffy. The bartender sighed.

"Well, I suppose I'll let you go this time," coneded the bartender. Grininng, Luffy left the tavern, now on the lookout for some tripwires, shovels and leaves.

* * *

A/N: Announcement! I am not dead. I repeat: I am not dead. I was just busy, is all. I'm sorry. This fic is also not dead.

Please bear with me. Updates will be admittedly slow. Maybe twice a month, even. Just bear with me. Life takes priority after all.


	6. Chapter 5 - Cruel Cat Kuro of 1000 plans

Chapter 5 - The Cruel Cat, Kuro of a thousand plans!

The sun hadn't even had the opportunity to peek over the horizon when the straw hats and Usopp gathered. Luffy had already dug holes and covered them with large leaves. Tripwires were armed inconspicuously across the slope. The pirate ship was well visible on the horizon and the straw hats were more than ready for the oncoming onslaught.

What was most likely the hardest part of the previous night was locating their swordsman, who was revealed to have the locational skills of a rock. After having armed his traps, Luffy stood behind, Iwatching as the pirate ship inched itself ever closer.

Once the ship had landed, the first installment of Pirates alighted, charging upwards, as the apparent vice-captain Jango overlooked them. Usopp and Nami still hadn't laid their caltrops and oil yet and were depending on having their traps run out before using those two items. As the first line of offenders triggered the first tripwire, logs began rolling down beside them, crushing the pirates due to its weight. More trip wires were triggered before the logs ran out. Approximately a fourth of the crewmembers were already taken out by the first onslaught.

Upon seeing that, Zoro gave an impressed whistle.

"Damn, Luffy. I count ten of 'em biting the dust. Are you sure we'll get to fight?" asked Zoro, slightly unsure of whether he would be getting a good fight.

"Don't be in a hurry, Zoro. If we trim the weak ones first by letting them fall to our traps, only the stronger ones would remain, which you could take care of," replied Luffy. Zoro grinned in reply.

"I like the sound of that, captain," said Zoro. As the second wave of offending pirates rushed in, Nami dumped both the barrels of oil on the slope while Usopp slung the caltrops in strategic areas. More men fell and slid, falling victim to the razor sharp caltrops that Usopp had procured.

Realizing his disadvantage, Jango called back his troops for a momentary break. He took a few seconds to assess his situation before frowning.

"I didn't realize that we were dealing with the Mystery incorporated. Oil? Caltrops?" asked Jango, waiting for a reply. After a few more seconds of waiting, he received none. "Tough crowd," he murmured. He dug into his coat and procured a loaded flintlock pistol which he aimed at the slope. He pulled the trigger and fired more or less where he intended to. The sparks from where he shot ignited the rest of the oil, causing the surface coated in oil to burn brightly before the flames died down moments later.

Luffy sat himself down, scratching his scalp as he observed Jango's solution unfold.

"Hmm, well, I guess he could do that, too," mumbled Luffy. The black cat pirates that were still standing charged the slope once again, maneuvering carefully around the caltrops.

"Captain…?" asked Zoro, itching to unleash his mayhem as he fiddled with his sword handles. His first mate's prompt shook him out of his thoughts before he simply nodded. Zoro charged three swords at the ready. Just before he was to execute his first target, Luffy interjected in a hurried tone.

"Oi, Zoro! Don't cut them up! If Kuro sees his men dead, my straw hat might get it!" said Luffy. Zoro sighed, before rotating his blades to their dull sides.

His first target raised his sword in an attempt to parry Zoro's three blades, but the three-sword user's brute force prevailed. From then on, a larger group of people tried attacking Zoro at the same time, but to little actual success.

From the rear, an awestruck Black Cat pirate grabbed a comrade just as he were to join the fray.

"What is it now, Mese?!" asked the comrade. Mese was shivering violently with pure terror in his eyes.

"Those three swords… can't you see?! He's the three-bladed devil himself, Roronoa Zoro! We can't win against him!" yelled Mese, stopping his comrade dead in his tracks. "Guys! Stand back, it's Roronoa Zoro!" yelled Mese again, stopping most of his comrades from advancing.

Murmurs of 'what?' and 'really' began rising. Just as Mese was to speak up again, Jango dug his chakram deep into the skull of the unsuspecting pirate. Luffy's heart skipped a beat as he witnessed the deed.

"Bah! Three sword style? I couldn't care less if it was three hundred sword style! Don't listen to this dead fool!" said Jango as he pointed at the fresh corpse. "Don't let his three sword style defeat all of our own blades! He's one man, for Pete's sake!" yelled Jango. Luffy slowly rose up from his seated position and glared daggers at Jango. He reached for the brim of his hat but quickly realized that it wasn't there.

"Oi, he was your crewmate, wasn't he?" asked Luffy frigidly. Jango pushed his fists towards Luffy.

"Arrest me, officer, for I killed an insurgent crew member," retorted Jango. Luffy crouched down and kicked off the ground quickly, dashing towards Jango. He bobbed and weaved between the pirates that were still fighting with Zoro. Shortly, he arrived before Jango, planting his fist right into his face, sending him reeling back. Jango held his bleeding nose in shock as

"You'll pay for that, you fool! Siam! Buchi!" he yelled. Out from the docked ship jumped two figures. One was rather fat and the other one was thin and had a hunchback. They both seemed to have cat ears, seeing as how it was a recurring theme within the crew. Luffy had his back turned on the two as they both were sneaking up on him. Luffy's attention was fixed on Jango, the crew killer.

"He was your crewmate. He swore his life to protect the crew and everyone within it. Despite all that, you killed him. Jango wiped his nose and smirked maliciously at Luffy.

"I don't know if you haven't noticed yet, son, but we're pirates," said Jango. Luffy smiled coldly,

"Let me introduce myself, too, then. I'm Monkey D Luffy. I am a pirate, and I _will_ become the pirate king. After I defeat this crew, I'll head to the Grand Line and claim my treasure," said Luffy. By now, the Nyanban brothers, Siam and Buchi, were only twenty paces from him. Just as they both dashed towards the unsuspecting Luffy, he turned his head to them in a flash and stared them down, causing them to stop, dead in their tracks.

Suddenly, a rock came hurtling towards the brothers, who sliced it in half at the last second. The brothers looked towards the direction of which the rocks were hurled.

"Your fight is with me," said Zoro, as he stood on a pile of unconscious pirates. Both Siam and Buchi's attentions were transfixed to the swordsman. Luffy approached the Jango, slowly walking towards him before unsheathing his knife from his back. Jango quickly got to his feet and pulled out two chakrams from his own back.

"Kid, I'm warning you. I was the first mate of the Black Cat Pirates. I am more than capable of ending your life," warned Jango. Luffy's frown remained static and unchanged, but he gave his foe the privilege of a reply.

"Even for a pirate, you're the lowest of the low," said Luffy. The two stared each other down before Jango threw both of his chakrams towards Luffy, who dodged them both skillfully. Jango pulled from his back a new pair of chakrams, which he used to defend against Luffy's downward slash. Luffy kept pushing Jango back with his skillful slashes and overwhelming speed just as something clicked in the back of his head.

'It can't be…' thought Luffy before taking a quick glance behind himself, only to see the thrown chakrams returning towards him at a blinding speed. Luffy ducked and rolled back right as the chakrams flew overhead. Jango caught them skillfully and did a weird disco pose which, unfortunately for him, did not distract Luffy.

"You know," stated Jango. "I've always wondered why people don't just begin with their strongest attacks first. I, however, will give you the privilege of seeing mine," said Jango as he produced several more chakrams. He threw them each at varying directions quickly, trapping Luffy in a veritable tornado of blades.

Luffy breathed in slowly and relaxed while slowly, but steadily robbing the world of its tempo. The chakrams became slow enough for Luffy to lock his eyes on them with ease. He raised his knife, and stabbed his knife through the open hole in the middle of each chakram, staking around ten chakrams on his knife like rings. Luffy then slowed down his thinking pace to a normal level, grinning as all hope had left Jango's face.

"Im. Impossible!" yelled Jango. Behind Luffy, the pile of unconscious bodies gained two additions, namely Siam and Buchi. Jango removed his hat and fished out one last chakram with a string attached to it. "Crew! Time for a power up!" yelled Jango, waking up some of his crewmembers. Those who weren't dazed enough looked at Jango's general direction. He swung the chakram like a pendulum, doing so for a few seconds.

"You will become stronger and forget your wounds when I say Jango, One, two, Jango," said Jango. Zoro jumped from the pile of bodies as some of the people inside of it regained some new found vigor. Zoro had neglected to look at the hypnotizing chakram and had instead been assessing the state of the spine of his blade. Hitting people with the spine of one's sword can very well lead to unforeseen consequences such as potential shatter, which was really all Zoro cared about.

Jango, himself, looked a lot more beefy, as he began dancing even more vigorously. Luffy took his knife out at the ready, with Jango's Chakrams still in hand. Luffy retracted his hands before throwing them away, far into the sea. The young pirate sheathed his knife, seeing as how his assailant had become disarmed.

From the top of the slope, Usopp and Nami were playing go fish, not paying much attention to the ongoing carnage happening little ways away from them. Just then, they heard some footsteps approaching them. They were stern, assertive, but also faint at the same time. The duo, however, paid it no mind.

"Got any fours?" asked Nami.

"Go fish," replied Usopp.

"...Bullshit" replied Nami after a moment of thinking. Little to their knowledge, Captain Kuro of the black cat pirates were right beside them, providing Nami with shade. The sudden shade had somewhat thrown off Nami. She turned around to see a man holding a suitcase. Shocked, she waved her hands placatingly while warning him. He simply stood still, staring at the men fighting it out down at the slope, the glare from the rising sun obscuring his eyes.

"Excuse me, but you can't be here mister!" said Nami. Usopp, formerly engrossed in the card game, using Nami's distracted state to cheat a little (what she doesn't know, she can't take offense with), just before looking up to see the same terrifying visage that was Captain Kuro.

Usopp froze, dropping his cards in utter terror. Momentarily, he reached for his slingshot and drew it to its maximum stretching distance, alerting Nami with the sound of stretched rubber. His shoulders were shivering, but his shooting hands remained absolutely steady.

"Nami. watch out!" yelled Usopp. Nami ducked, and a moment later, a lead pellet traveled towards Kuro extremely swiftly. In the fraction of a moment, Kuro looked at the lead ball, and took one simple step back, causing the ball to fly right past him.

Nami, catching the hints, realized just then that she was dealing with Captain Kuro. She faced both Zoro and Luffy, who seemed to have finished their respective fights, looking none worse for wear.

"LUFFY, CAPTAIN KURO IS HERE!" she yelled, causing Luffy to look towards her, and then at Kuro. Luffy let out a wide grin as he began giggling.

"Oi, Kuro, I upheld the bargain. Give me my hat back," said Luffy. Kuro's gaze lowered itself, now facing Luffy directly. He unpacked his suitcase to reveal two gloves with katana blades tipped on each of the fingertips and the straw hat. He threw the contents of the suitcase out and equipped his gloves by pushing his hands through them while midair. He grabbed hold of the brim of the straw hat, taking extra care not to cut it.

"It seems that you lot are the only obstacles in my way. No worries, then. I guess I'll have to exterminate you all. Before that, however, I will return your straw hat to you, undamaged," said Kuro. Just as Luffy was to thank him for keeping his straw hat safe, Kuro, with unimaginable speed, appeared right behind Luffy, who was now inexplicably wearing his hat. Zoro also stood in front of Luffy, crossing his blades. A moment later, an errant spray of blood exited his right bicep. Luffy looked behind himself, seeing one of Kuro's "claws" broken off. Kuro pushed up his glass with the base of his palms, splaying his fingers while bending them slightly.

Luffy instinctively unsheathed his blade and sped his thinking pace up, slightly. Zoro stabbed the ground with his sword in order to support himself.

"Still alive? You'll have your friend to thank you for that. I will make no such mistake now," stated Kuro. Kuro pushed his arms behind himself, but Luffy slowed down time as much as he could, just so he could see exactly what was happening. Kuro leaned slightly forward, at a degree of roughly forty-five degrees. Kuro kicked off the ground once, shocking Luffy. He hadn't seen anyone close to that fast since his gramps. The only one that Luffy had never been able to lock his eyes on was his grandfather, and that was because he was using a technique where he instantaneously appeared somewhere.

Kuro kicked off the ground again, Kuro did something that was seemingly impossible. He was accumulating momentum by kicking off the ground in such a short time. His impulse was most likely through the roof, and that was most likely the reason for his blinding speed. After six kicks, Kuro ran towards Luffy, claws stretched to his sides, ready for a horizontal slash. Luffy brought his knife to rest at the path of the claws. Momentarily, the blade made contact with the five finger blades of Kuro, causing sparks to fly.

In real time, Kuro, shocked as he was, gasped as his claws seemed to strike a knife instead of flesh. He leaped backward and assessed his foe before attempting the same tactic, only to have it foiled once again.

"Once you _shave_ , you're blinded, aren't you?" asked the straw hat-wearing boy. Kuro looked at him, slightly puzzled.

"You're a smart one, aren't you?" quipped Kuro, but his thoughts strayed back to his choice of words. "Shave, eh? You're a knowledgeable one," said Kuro. Luffy nodded.

"I can see right through you, Kuro. You incline towards the direction you wish to shave towards, and then you kick the ground half a dozen times to gain momentum. You predetermine all your moves because you aren't capable of changing your course," summarised Luffy. Kuro remained inert but grinned ever so slightly.

"I wasn't even aware that there was anyone at least half as smart as I am on this side of the red line. Well met, boy. As much as I may admire your intellect, I have my own agenda that I need to see through to the end," said Kuro. This time, instead of shaving, he simply dashed forwards with his knife hands splayed. The claws of his right hand slashed horizontally, hitting Luffy's knife. Taking advantage of his defenseless state, he brought his other hand to slash Luffy, who pushed himself away from Kuro in the nick of time.

Their clashing continued. While Kuro was obviously quicker, Luffy had the upper hand in terms of raw strength and reflexes. There was an obvious difference between both the durabilities of each opponent's weapon, and it only compounded itself a minute into the fight, when Luffy, who was on the offensive, slashed three of Kuro's claws off.

Frustrated, Kuro leaped back and analyzed the situation. Kuro raised his shoulders for each breath he gulped. He could feel the beginning stages of fatigue setting in on him, but he pushed it away with all his might.

Say what you want, but Kuro thought himself a genius til the end. That also meant being able to distinguish when a fight would ultimately become a losing one. He hadn't lost hope, however, because he still had a few tricks up his sleeve, and a change of tactic could do well to turn the tide of a fight. Kuro drew in a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Everyone who calls themselves a Black Cat pirate, stand up and I will give you what you deserve for your troubles!" yelled Kuro. From the beach, Jango seemed to be slowly getting himself up. Siam and Buchi were both out completely cold, slashed to an inch of their lives, courtesy by the pirate hunter. Out of around the thirty Black Cat pirates present, around half actually managed to stand up.

"You will receive what you deserve shortly. Thank you for cooperating," said Kuro in a mock-tone. Kuro crouched once again, causing Luffy to slow time down once again. Kuro inclined slowly and began the kicking, only that this seemed slightly faster than the last time. Luffy counted ten kicks this time, in the same amount of time it took for him to do six kicks the previous time.

Kuro bolted…

Right past Luffy, claws stretched as he took a swing at a random crewmate who stood. Kuro's claws sliced through him like a hot knife through butter, sectioning the man in a gruesome way. The man hadn't even bled yet, due to how Luffy had slowed time down. Kuro pointed his index finger to the ground, causing the blade on that finger to cut the ground, allowing him to swing off from the improvised pivot. Kuro then went for another target to slash, cutting that target up, too. Then he started slashing randomly. The wall of the slope, a boulder and many other things got slashed all the same.

Once it was all done, the only men standing were Zoro, Luffy, Kuro, and Jango. After Luffy slowed down his perception speed, the slashed pirates fell, blood spraying in almost all directions. Kuro, despite his acts of murder, remained free of blood. His face bore an ear-to-ear smile, and his teeth were bared. He raised one of his claws directly in front of his face and licked some blood off of it.

"I will kill you, straw-hat!" seethed Kuro. Luffy was absolutely wrathful at this point. With a quiet voice, he called to his first mate.

"Oi, Zoro," said Luffy in a pin-drop silent voice. Zoro replied with a questioning hum.

"There are two kinds of enemies in my book. Those I absolutely hate and those that I can't forgive, no matter what," said Luffy. Zoro nodded, understanding.

"Which one's he?" asked Zoro.

"It depends on what he does after he is defeated," said Luffy, a matter of factly. The straw-hat wearing boy bent over to pick up a small rock and threw it towards Kuro as quickly as he could. Kuro dodged the projectile as quickly as ever. Luffy reached for the inside of his shirt and pulled out the same six-shot revolver that he found in Alvida's ship, but with repairs. The gun was loaded and ready to be fired.

Luffy tried firing again. This time, Kuro was very much slower on the uptake. The first shot had him barely dodging, while the second shot had the exact same effect on him. The third shot grazed him on his left side, which caused him to change tactics. Kuro dashed towards Luffy, bobbing and weaving randomly. After two shots missed, Luffy quickly discarded the gun and blocked the oncoming attack with his knife and pushed back the momentum as hard as he could, reflecting Kuro back where he came from.

"NAMI! TOSS ME YOUR STAFF!" yelled Luffy. Nami, along with Usopp, stood at the top of the slope, overlooking the fight when she heard the request. After a second of hesitation, she unstrapped the sections of the bo staff, attached them speedily and threw it like a javelin towards Luffy who caught it expertly.

'Wow… this is some quality wood, huh? Too bad it's gonna break by the end of this fight,' mused Luffy in his head. He reminisced about his earlier days, back when he used to fight with his metal pipe. While Sabo and Ace were all for raw strength, Luffy sought technique, which led him to spend most of his day's training along with Naguri.

It started slowly, mostly just to give himself time to remember his form. He held the staff in front of him, horizontally. Then he stretched out his other hand and began twirling it, speeding up steadily. After the staff gained enough speed, he began spinning it around himself. Luffy performed his katas right in front of Kuro, who seemed to be grinning even more viciously. After a few more seconds, Luffy looked up at his foe, smirking.

Kuro dashed towards him. Luffy twirled the staff to confuse Kuro but ultimately managed to stab the end of the stab right in the former captain's chest, sending him crashing backward. As agile as a cat, Kuro leaped up and tried slashing once again. Luffy avoided damaging the staff and targeted the captain's weak spots. Another hit sent Kuro reeling backward.

"You're a cruel man, Kuro," said Luffy in between the strikes. "You kill your men without any remorse. Men who've dedicated their lives to follow you at seas. You've broken their trust and now you're going to be defeated by me," stated Luffy.

Kuro snarled at the young boy, baring his teeth. The pirate captain was still in a state of blood lust, thus inhibiting him from intelligent thought.

Luffy began rotating the staff, swinging it around himself as he, too, flipped and performed impressive maneuvers. The battle, in his opinion, had been decided. He would win.

"I'll repeat myself once again, Kuro. I am Monkey…" said Luffy as he swung right as Kuro dashed inwards, looking for an easy hit to land, but failed, and got smacked on the side of his head with the staff, breaking the left handle of his glasses.

"D." continued Luffy as Kuro landed deftly, laying low as he aimed for Luffy's legs. Just as he was about to connect the hit, Luffy jumped over the captain and struck him hard across the back, knocking Kuro down with a thud. "Luffy!" yelled Luffy. He slowed down the perpetual spinning of the staff and planted it down to the ground, anchoring it into place before leaning on it.

Kuro tried pushing himself up slowly, faltering a few times before rising to his feet, arms and legs shaky. His wild grin and maniacal eyes now seemed more human, but it was clear that fatigue was pushing him down.

"Y-you know nothing about me or my struggles. I will win this, and I will get what I deserve!" yelled Kuro. Luffy scoffed before pulling up the staff from the ground and rested it on his right shoulder as he held it.

"Why I oughta put more back into your licking," said Luffy as he began cracking his fingers. Kuro snickered.

In a last ditch effort, Kuro shook of his fatigue and went for a final attack, pouring as much strength he could into this last spurt.

With swiftness so impressive, Luffy twirled his staff as quickly as he could, causing wind to start blowing. Both Usopp and Nami had to hold onto a tree while Zoro grounded himself with his sword. Both the combatants collided…

...but Kuro's claws didn't even graze Luffy as he slammed the staff sideways into Kuro's stomach, sending him crashing against the wall of the slope, causing a crater to form. Kuro fell down, and didn't get up. What he did instead, with all the effort he could muster, he tried sitting upright, leaning against the wall of the slope. He coughed a little, and ended up spitting out some blood.

"Got somethin' to say, butler?" asked Luffy aggressively. The former captain smiled weakly.

"I really am…. Weak, am I?" said Kuro in between coughs.

"Pretty much," agreed Luffy.

"If there are monsters like you in the East Blue, then I never really would have stood a chance in the Grand Line at all, now would I?" asked Kuro rhetorically.

"In a battle of wills, it is you that have lost," said Luffy, quoting a line that he liked from one of his fighting novels.

"No need for obscure references. You mean to say that I never had the will to defend my pride and goal and that if I did, it would be you on the brink of death and not me," stated Kuro.

"Being a pirate means being free, Kuro. Being free means that you can do whatever you want. Being able to do whatever you want also means being able to defeat anyone that may seek to stop you from doing exactly that. The true core of a pirate is will. In that sense, you are indeed weak," said Luffy. Kuro scoffed, adjusting his now broken glasses. He removed both of his gloves and threw them to his side.

"Well met, Monkey D Luffy. The only still-living man I've really appreciated, it would seem," said Kuro. Just before Luffy was to reply, he dozed off into unconsciousness. Luffy raised Nami's bo and assessed it, checking for cracks. He grinned as he realized that there weren't any. He tried giving it one last tentative swing, but just as the swing came to its abrupt ending, the bo staff shattered into small pieces inexplicably. Shrugging his shoulders, Luffy simply threw the ruined bo staff to the ground and walked up the slope, followed by Zoro who tied the bandana around the small graze that Kuro had given him.

-x-

The group of friends was once again in the same tavern that they had eaten lunch in the other day, celebrating their victory, happily and loudly.

Luffy and Usopp both did the can-can dance while Zoro and Nami were engrossed in a vicious drinking competition, just before a young and bleach-blonde girl walked in. Usopp took a break from the festivities to meet the gaze of the visibly frightened girl that was in front of him.

"Kaya…! What's the matter?" asked Usopp, visibly concerned.

"It's… Klahadore! Where is he?!" she nearly yelled. This had effectively put an end to the festivities. Usopp coughed a little before speaking.

"There's… something that I need to tell you about him," said Usopp. Before he could even continue, Kaya interrupted him.

"I know there's something wrong about him! This morning I found Merry half-dead, with a slash running across his chest. The only thing he could tell me before losing consciousness was that Klahadore is Kuro! Usopp, I don't understand any of this!" tears were running down her cheeks now. Usopp could hardly find his voice, so Luffy took his stead in explaining.

"Klahadore was actually Kuro, a man who was supposedly executed three years ago by fire squad. He came here to gain your trust, and then kill you for your money. This morning, my crew fought him off. They've most likely set sail by now," stated Luffy. Kaya held her mouth in utter shock, taking a few steps back, legs shaky, before bolting out the door.

"Kaya, wait!" yelled Usopp after her as he, too, followed her out.

-x-

Kaya sat on a ledge of a cliff, overlooking the vast sea. This is the farthest she's ever been after both her parents died, and her stress was overcome effectively by the soothing sight of the sea.

"Kaya!" Usopp yelled from behind. Kaya looked back, her eyes swollen from all the tears that ran down her face.

"Explain to me everything, Usopp, and don't you dare tell a lie. Not now," demanded Kaya. Usopp gulped before sitting down on the ledge, right next to Kaya.

"You know that straw-hat wearing guy? His name is Monkey D Luffy and he's going to become the pirate king some day. Yesterday, we found out that Kuro was planning on attacking the village, make you write a will and then kill you. We heard everything, so we made preparations. I set up some traps, and we watched their invasion fail spectacularly.

"Eventually, after Luffy defeated the first mate of Kuro's pirate crew, the captain appeared. They fought long and hard, but Luffy remained victorious. Luffy's first mate, Roronoa Zoro, had also defeated the Nyanban brothers of the Black Cat Pirates, single handed. Never before had I seen such a spectacular show of strength.

"The fact remains that Kuro planned to kill you, and I helped save your life," concluded Usopp. He was gazing at the sea as he was recounting his tale, but he hadn't noticed the perpetual frown on her face.

"I told you no lies. Now isn't the time, Usopp!" complained Kaya. Usopp looked at her sharply, glaring daggers at her.

"Never before have I lied when you've told me not to. Up until now, I've stated nothing but the truth!" retorted Usopp.

"So... it's really so, then... Klahadore was my best friend, and now I'm being told he's a criminal. I... it's too much for me. First my parents, and now the only other person I considered a parent!" yelled Kaya. Usopp, looking hurt, turned her gaze away from her, and instead sought refuge in the open sea.

"I'm not lying, Kaya," Usopp said. What caught Usopp off-guard was a sudden hug from his side.

"I'm... I'm sorry! I can't believe... I said those things to you."

"You... you had every right..." Usopp replied reassuringly. "Kaya... I've been thinking... I want to set out to seas."

Kaya let go of the hug and smiled at Usopp. "That was kind of obvious. All you ever did was talk about the seas. If that's what you want to do... then you should."

"Kaya," Usopp said. "You're right. This isn't a place for me to stay. I will head out to seas and make Luffy the pirate king, and after that, I will come back home and tell you all about it," assured Usopp. For the first time that day, Kaya smiled, genuinely.

"Usopp, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," began Kaya. Usopp looked at her quizzically.

"What is it?" asked Usopp. Kaya smiled warmly.

"I think I love you," she said. Time seemed to stop for Usopp when she said that, but eventually he regained his bearings.

"I-I love you, too…!" exclaimed Usopp. Kaya's grin turned into a smile brighter than the sun. Tears of joy ran freely down her cheeks.

"Once you get back here, I will become a famous doctor. Marry me, then, Usopp," said Kaya as she held Usopp's hand and gave it a soft squeeze. Usopp, caught in the situation, pulled her in closer and embraced her. Kaya didn't take too long to do the same. After a moment, Usopp pulled away and looked her straight in the eyes.

"When I come back, we'll have both reached our dreams. Don't let me down, Kaya," said Usopp. Kaya nodded.

"Never," she agreed.

-x-

The crew was ready to take off from Gecko Island. The day before, Kaya had convinced Merry that it was Luffy and the gang who beat Kuro and saved the Syrup village. Overjoyed, Merry commissioned a ship from his personal dock as a gift to the straw hats. They were at the beach, looking at the beautiful caravel in front of them. The figurehead was a goat's head, and it was pretty basic, but the crew wasn't really that big, so it would do.

"I present to you, the Going Merry!" announced Merry, Kaya's manservant. "I've taken on account your specifications, master Luffy. You said that you wanted a ship that could weather the Grand Line? What I've got for you is a keel-reinforced single-mast caravel ready to take the seas by storm," finished merry.

"That's really nice!" beamed Nami.

"Awesome!" yelled Luffy.

"It's fine," mumbled Zoro, although there was an undeniable grin on his face.

Just as the crew was to take off, from the top of the slope rolled down Usopp, carrying a veritable boulder of a bag. Luffy jumped down from the ship and stopped Usopp from crashing into their ship.

"Luffy, I've made up my mind! I've decided to come with you and set out to seas!" said Usopp as he got to his feet. Luffy snickered before hugging Usopp tightly.

"I knew you'd come around," said Luffy. He carried Usopp up before throwing him onto the ship. Just as he were to collide with the mast, Zoro intercepted him and brought him down to the deck. Luffy crouched before jumping up and scaling the side of the ship.

"Alright, crew! Raise the anchor. We're setting sail! Unfurl the sails, and set out!" yelled Luffy. His crew promptly did as told. Usopp made himself home relatively easy and then got to work with

Nami ordering him around. The rigging was very simplistic and was enough for a crew of four people to handle.

Eventually, the straw hats were long gone from Usopp's home island and were setting sail towards whatever lies ahead. As the island faded away from the distance, Luffy sat up and punched his palm.

"Guys! I've got something to share!" yelled Luffy, drawing his crew members from whatever they were doing, and looked towards him.

"What is it now, Luffy? You still owe me for my staff, and I hope you haven't forgotten," said Nami, slightly peeved.

"You're gonna love this. We've got a new crewmate!" yelled Luffy. Nami sighed, slightly annoyed.

"Yes, we have met Usopp already," said Nami. Luffy shook his head.

"Not him. We've got another one. Why don't you come out…" said Luffy, just as the door to the cabin on the main deck opened itself from the inside. The inside of the cabin was dark, so the crewmates couldn't make out who was inside. Luffy grinned brightly.

"Kuro?" asked Luffy, still smiling.

* * *

There. Now that that behemoth's out of the way, let the fun stuff begin.

I'll update as fast as I can. Hold your breath for an update anytime this month. I'm sorry that I haven't been uploading, but life takes priority.

Alright, let's pump this up to hundred followers, aight? I swear if I get that many followers, I'll update within a week. I'll delete my account if I don't follow up.


	7. Chapter 6 - Unexpected stowaway!

-chapter 6 - Unexpected Stowaway! Former enemy turned ally!

"What the hell is going on?! Why the hell is _he_ here?!" yelled Nami, reaching for her holstered bo-staff before realizing that it wasn't there. "And you are so dead for rendering me defenseless!" yelled Nami, now facing Luffy. Kuro looked badly bruised. His glasses were a mess and his suit had tears all over. He was favoring his right leg and held his arm with his other. His previously slicked back hair was now completely disheveled, with stray hairs splayed in all directions. All in all, he looked positively _terrible_.

"What..? You still fear a beaten and bruised man? I assure you, even if I did try and attack all of you, the result would be even worse than the battle at Gecko Island," said Kuro, before coughing a little.

"Oi, Luffy, are you sure about this?" asked Zoro, slightly confused. Luffy nodded, smiling brightly.

"Of course I am, dumb-dumb!" replied Luffy. Zoro sheathed one of his swords and shrugged before heading back to his favorite napping spot.

"You're the captain, so whatever you say's law, here, I suppose," said Zoro, half-heartedly before sitting down and sleeping. Both Usopp and Nami stared at the first mate in absolute horror and shock.

"Luffy! Why didn't you talk to me about this?! He tried killing Kaya, for crying out loud!" yelled Usopp.

"..but he failed, and he was sorry," retorted Luffy, as though that would solve everything. Usopp was still livid.

"He tried killing Kaya, and all he said was sorry?! Why I oughta-" said Usopp as he lunged towards Kuro, bringing his fist back. Luffy pulled him away, and held him with one arm before he pushed him away, sending Usopp rolling. Luffy was visibly annoyed.

"He poured his heart out in front of me. I don't know if you can't see it, but the man accepted utter defeat. He had no illusions after I beat him, and that's what puts him head and shoulders above anyone else I've ever fought!" said Luffy. Usopp gave a wolfish frown.

"He still has to pay, Luffy!" said Usopp as he got to his feet. Before Luffy could protest, Kuro held him back with one hand.

"It's true. If long-nose still has qualms with me, I guess I have to pay a price. Go ahead, long-nose. Punch me," said Kuro as he slowly removed his broken glasses and held it on his hand. Usopp stood up and took a step back. From there, he ran towards Kuro and hit him as hard as he could. Kuro fell back and skidded across the deck. Usopp's knuckles were bloody and nearly bare, and he raised his shoulders with every breath he took in.

"How's that working out for any of ya? Now Kuro's face is a pulp and your hand's a mess," said Luffy, with an undertone of disappointment. "This could all have been avoided if you weren't so hard-headed," added Luffy. From behind, Nami smacked Luffy on his head.

"THAT'S RICH COMING FROM THE CONCRETE-HEAD HIMSELF!" yelled Nami. Luffy held his head in pain.

"Owie! Nami, that hurt!" complained Luffy.

"MUSIC TO MY EARS, YOU INCOMPETENT PIECE OF-"

"You're not wrong, Luffy," said Usopp, interrupting Nami's ire. Luffy raised his eyebrow at the sniper. "If at all I can't trust Kuro, I trust your judgement. If you think Kuro is a good man, then I won't dispute it," said Usopp as he went into the cabins, slamming the door behind him. Kuro was still lying flat on the ground, most likely unconscious once again. Just as Nami was to strike Luffy again, he held his hand out and blocked the slap, gripping her hand somewhat gently.

"Nami, I need you to listen to me. He's hurt. Treat Kuro to the best of your ability. He's your comrade now, and we look out for each other," said Luffy. What convinced Nami to listen to him wasn't aggression or the feeling of threat, but the fact that every single word that Luffy uttered ringed with candor and conviction, right down to the way he held her hand, urgently, but not hard enough to actually hurt her, or cause her any pain for that matter. Nami was lost in Luffy's demanding eyes for a moment, before realizing the magnitude of the man standing before her.

"Don't worry, Luffy. I'll do everything I can," said Nami, words spewing out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Luffy, in reply, grinned brightly, satisfied by her answer before letting the grip go. Promptly, she sat herself down next to Kuro and snapped her fingers over his face, causing him to open his eyes, dizzily dragging his eyes around.

'Wha-what's happen-happening?' thought Kuro as his eyes drifted around, only to find that he was on a pirate ship. Suddenly, all of his memories came back, and so did a throbbing pain on his left cheek. 'Right… I lost, and then that boy punched me, didn't he?' remembered Kuro. He tried forcing a grin, only to realize that it was barely possible. He felt completely numb all over. He hadn't received any medical care since the fight from the day before, and not to mention what his remaining crew did to him.

'God, if you can hear me, I bet you're laughing your ass off as I suffer, huh?' thought Kuro. Suddenly, Kuro felt the urge to do something he only did twenty years ago when his mother died, but never again. Kuro wanted to _cry_.

'Oh no, don't you dare, Kuro,' said the former butler to himself. Suddenly, he saw, right above his vision, a young girl staring into his eyes. With careful hands, she began to undress Kuro and applied bandages to his ribs, arms and applied antiseptic ointment to all of his open wounds. Kuro was at a complete lack of words. The tears he had welled up inside of him were at the brink of gushing out. After his treatment was done, Nami lifted him up to his feet and supported him all the way to his own cabin at the men's residency. Nami was then headed out the door, and was about to leave before Kuro coughed loudly, gaining her attention.

"Wh-why are you d-doing this?" asked Kuro. Nami turned around to face him before retorting casually.

"Luffy's normally an airhead, but if he trusts you, then I'll have to do that, too. You're a crewmate, now. That means I care for you now," said Nami.

So simple, yet so profound. Kuro felt a struggle deep within him, a struggle more potent than when he fought Luffy. The struggle was eating him up from the inside, but he tried his damndest not to give in. Just as Nami left the room, and went onto the main deck once again, Kuro let it all go.

He cried. For the first time in years, he let all of his emotions go. Tears ran down his face. For hours on end, they did, until sleep dulled him once again, sending him to dreamland.

-x-

On a corner of the East Blue many considered to be high end, there was a beautiful and majestic city which many would say rivaled the Goa Kingdom of the southern East Blue. Its royal palace was decked with marble and other precious stones. The crown of the king was studded with countless diamonds, sapphires and rubies, and its base was made of pure gold. The lavishness of the city didn't stop there, however. The town closest to the palace was completely inhabited by noblemen and women. At the outer edge of the whole city lived the working class men and women who's sole purpose was to supply the nobles with all sorts of luxuries.

In the town of the working, there was a certain tailor shop called "The Black Balbriggan" driven by one boy child, a father and an uncle. The day went as usual. The boy was out getting fabrics from the local fabric-seller. The way to the seller was relatively far, being on the other end of the town, but nobody ran as fast as that boy, anyways, so errands like these were best delegated to him. The boy wore the piece of fabric around his neck as though it was a cape. Right as he saw the workshop, he noticed the beautiful carriage outside, and the white horses that stood in front of it. With some curiosity, he approached the door of the shop to see who was inside.

Just as he entered, he saw a very well-dressed gentleman sitting right in front of his father, as they were talking about adult-stuff that went way over the young boy's head. The uncle stood by the backdoor, paying attention. Just as he saw his nephew, the uncle ushered him in with a hand gesture, and put a finger on his mouth signifying that he needed to be quiet.

"...I've already received the shipment. A small portion of the jewels will be directed to you, and you will be able to make the dress. Your payment has already been discussed, has it not?" asked the man. The young boy nudged his uncle lightly, and made him lower himself so the boy could whisper something in his ear.

"That's a nobleman, isn't he?" asked the boy. The uncle nodded swiftly.

"Yes, and it is absolutely important that you don't disturb. Good job on getting the fabric so quickly, by the way," said the uncle as he ruffled the boy's hair, causing him to smile.

"...Do not worry, Lord Loyner. I will tailor a dress fit for a Celestial Dragon," reassured his father. The nobleman rolled his eyes and reached for his cane before standing up, and heading out the door. Just as he was about to leave, the man stopped.

"Don't disappoint me, Schwarz. This is your _one_ chance. People in your position would kill for this," said the nobleman in a completely sober and mirthless voice, dropping the temperature of the room by several degrees. The nobleman finally left, and climbed his carriage before heading off.

The boy looked over to face his father, with curious eyes.

"What was that, father? Are we making a dress for the royal family or sumth'n?" guessed the boy. The father looked down at his son, with an annoyed frown on his face.

"Do not talk about this to anyone, understand me?! If I hear the neighbourhood children chanting this, Gods help me, Kuro I will snip your tongue!" scolded his father in a hushed voice. Kuro took a step back, raising his hands placatingly.

"I wouldn't do that, father! If it's a family secret, then family comes first," said Kuro, faking a reassuring smile. Schwarz backed off, and scoffed.

Kuro's father was an exceptionally tall man, standing at about two meters in length. While Kuro was scrawny and short, Schwarz was broadly built, and had a thick horseshoe mustache to seal the deal. Although his physique suggested a blacksmith more so than a tailor, he was still the master tailor of the city of Allea. It was actually an embarrassment to the nobles that a man of such skill was a lowborn, which prompted one of the lords of the palace to approach Schwarz and offer him and his family a noble status.

"Good boy," said Schwarz, and headed off to the workshop that was right behind the shop proper.

"Jeez, what was all that anger for, anyways?" asked Kuro, slightly bummed. His uncle, Noir, sighed.

"Your father may be a little, ehem," his uncle cleared his throat a little before raising his voice. "ABRASIVE AND ILL TEMPERED, NOT TO MENTION IRRATIONAL!" yelled the uncle, before lowering his voice again.

"I heard that," came the faint, but loud reply from the workshop.

"...but he has all of our best interests in mind. Don't you mind him. Just keep doing your job, and you'll make our family proud," said Noir, shaking his nephew's hand.

"Okay, uncle," said Kuro before going in for a hug. Noir reciprocated, hugging his nephew tightly.

Where Schwarz was powerfully built, Noir was a very stereotypical tailor. He was slim and tall, carried himself with grace, had a had a handlebar mustache and was slightly effeminate. He wore glasses which hung lazily in front of his eyes, balancing precariously on the bridge of his nose.

"Go on over to Madame Francine again and get me some teal coloured sheets. Also…" said Noir before he went to grab the nearest pen and paper from the counter and began writing something onto the paper. "Ask her for this, and if she doesn't understand, tell her to send me another letter through you. You're going to have to run a lot today. Think you can handle it?" asked his uncle. Kuro nodded confidently. His uncle smiled brightly. With a nod, Kuro bolted out the door and ran as fast as he could. The first part of the journey was to run through the streets, past the market district.

There was a shortcut that he had scouted, but wasn't sure of whether it was cost-effective, factoring in time and effort, but he felt like doing a leap of faith today. In a narrow alleyway, Kuro climbed up by pushing himself against both the walls, climbing as quickly as possible. He was now rooftop level. He could see Madame Francine's shop from where he stood, but at least his path was now level.

Kuro tried recreating a trick he once did when he had to outrun a thug in a pinch. He leaned slightly forward and tried kicking off the ground twice as fast as he could, which failed, and did nothing but make him fall, face first on the rooftop, making him look like an idiot. He tried once again, this time gaining some marginal success. He managed to reach his top speed extremely quickly, and used his forward momentum to jump from rooftop to rooftop, as though he were some overexcited ninja.

"I LOVE THIS!" he shouted for the world to hear. He never realized how fun it was to use the rooftops to jump. In little to no time, he reached Madame Francine, asked for some teal sheets and gave the elderly woman the note. She wrinkled her forehead as she read it, and once she reached the end, turned it around to see the rest. She crumpled the paper angrily and threw it at the bin before redirecting her cold and hard gaze towards Kuro.

"Noir sent you, didn't he?" she asked. Kuro nodded. "I'm going to need more from him than this. Tell him that he has absolutely lost his mind. You might just be ten, but don't you dare think that I won't cane you, too, for your uncles insolence. What are you waiting for? Go!" ordered the Madame, causing Kuro to bolt out the door and head back to the workshop.

There was, from there on, a visible back and forth of messages, using Kuro as the errand-boy. At the end of it all, Kuro collected both the teal sheets and a briefcase which he was told not to open by Francine before its destination.

"Be careful, boy. Inside this briefcase is something worth more than your petty life. Don't let it get stolen from you, or I will kill you. The Strongest Man in The World couldn't stop me from wringing your neck!" she seethed. Kuro, not waiting for another prodding, took the most secure route home, and arrived there safely, and was met with Noir on the door, who quickly snatched the briefcase away from him, before giving him a small smile.

"You've done well, Kuro," said Noir.

-x-

About a month later, The Black Balbriggan had finally finished their most masterful dress ever. The dress was fit for a royal princess. The tailors had both invested countless man hours on the dress, and sleep was practically unheard of during the month of which the creation of the dress was due.

The product? Well… only the best dress that the entire kingdom of Allea had ever seen. The dress was on a cleaned and polished mannequin, and had several layers embroidered with all kinds of beautiful silken fabric, and the stuff that Madame Francine kept in her briefcase, apparently being a golden-dusty silk sheet.

"This is simply…. Marvelous!" exclaimed Noir as he stretched out his hands, a tear running down his left cheek. Schwarz scoffed, but nodded too as he smiled faintly.

"Yes it is, gentlemen. We've created a work of art. Soon enough, we'll become noblemen," said Schwarz. His son was right next to him, so he patted him on his back, with his giant hand almost covering the entirety of the boy's back, pushing him slightly forward. Kuro looked up and smiled at his father's extreme show of enthusiasm, which speaks volumes about his general attitude.

"Nobleman Lord Loyner will be picking up the Dress by this evening by sundown. I want you all to make The Black Balbriggan as clean as possible!" ordered Noir as he reached for a broom and began dusting. Reluctantly, Schwarz stood up and began picking up after all the fabric littered across the floor. With his superior speed, Kuro began repainting the wall, and finished way before his uncle or father with their own tasks. After he finished his tasks, he simply helped the two men with their own chores.

By the afternoon, their shop was completely cleaned. The walls were spotless and ready for a Lord's arrival, and most befitting for a future Princesses dress to reside in for the time being. Kuro caught himself staring at the dress for more than was reasonable before Noir shrugged him gently out of his trance. He turned around to see both men dressed in impressive suites. Both were wearing tuxedos with ties. Schwarz's sleeves were abnormally large so as to fit the man's great arms. Noir's was much leaner and slimmer. The other thing that caught Kuro's eyes were that Schwarz had actually bothered to make his facial hair more presentable. Instead of its usual wild and scruffy appearance, it looked a lot more lord-like. Noir also had slicked-back hair, and his mustache seemed a lot more solid, presumably due to some grease he had applied on it.

"Your suit is waiting in the back-room. I want you dressed in five minutes," said Noir, tapping his back gently before he did as ordered. Five minutes later, Kuro came out with a similar-looking suit as his two guardians. Before they knew it, the sun had set and the Nobleman arrived at their door before entering. He hadn't taken a single moment to appreciate the impeccability of the shop and had simply nodded at Schwarz who nodded back. His gaze eventually locked onto the dress that they had made, making him widen his eyes visibly. A moment passed before he regained his composure.

"I-it's beautiful, yes, I'll give you that. Load the dress onto the back of the carriage within ten minutes. The wedding's at ten, so we have around four hours, but better early than late," said the Nobleman. Both Noir and Schwarz got to work, hauling and loading the dress as carefully as possible. The carriage was larger than the last one, so storage was easier than they had anticipated.

After they had loaded the dress, the workers of the Black Balbriggan as well as Nobleman Loyner were headed to the Royal Palace to receive their reward and deliver the dress respectively. The night was dark, but that only served to amplify the illumination that the countless streetlights brought. Despite how well things seemed to be, there was still a nagging feeling on the back of Noir's mind that something bad was going to happen in a matter of time.

-x-

The royal court had the appearance of something that you could only read about in a storybook. A long and wide hall, with the elevated platform of the throne where the king would sit. The carpets had colours that suggested money and status as well as an air of "You should pay to drink from the toilet that I used". All in all, a simple commoner couldn't help but feel somewhat puny in these halls. All except Mr. Schwarz himself. While Kuro and Noir were focusing on not tripping over their own feet, Schwarz dragged the wheeled mannequin carrying the dress unflinchingly towards the king and stopped at the staircase leading to the top of the throne and stood silently, waiting for the king's first words.

Eventually, they came.

"That is a wonderful dress that you have made. If all goes well, at the end of the wedding, you will be granted Nobleship. I like to think of Allea as a meritocracy. If you are skillful enough, you can always become a noble. After all, the lineage of a nobleman always started somewhere. Yours might start here," spoke the King. Schwarz nodded.

"I do hope that the bride also takes a liking to it," said Schwarz. The King gave a half-smile, but nodded all the same.

"That is for her to decide. As for I. I believe I have already stated my opinion on your work of art,"stated the King. Schwarz couldn't help but smile a little. "The handmaidens shall take your dress to the Princess's quarters. You are invited to dine in our banquet before the wedding proper. You may leave and prepare yourselves. You may rest at our guest-house. It is state-of-the-art, so I'm sure you'll enjoy," said the king. Half a dozen handmaidens appeared, and two of them both began dragging the wheeled mannequin and disappeared through a door. The three tailors, led by a butler, headed to their lodgings. The palace was large with corridors winding in never-ending distances. They had already climbed what seemed to be over twenty different flights of stairs. As they passed yet another corridor, Kuro peered out a window by his side, seeing the entire kingdom of Allea stretched out before his very eyes. The lights seemed so beautiful, the way they dotted the landscape like torchbugs. The view was magical to say the least.

The room was soon found and the butler opened the door to reveal a spacious and lavish room that could easily fit two families from the commoner's city. Kuro walked into the room and stopped in front of a bed, and once there, Kuro fell on the silken bed, relaxation flowing through him.

"We've done well, big guy," said Kuro's uncle as he loosened his collar.

"Damn right, I have," replied Schwarz, fist pumping.

"...and all it took was you almost ripping my arms off four times,"

"I can't help it that you're horseshit at notching," boomed Schwarz back, causing Noir to scoff indignantly. While the two continued arguing, Kuro began assessing the room. It was ridiculously detailed. Every single inch of wood had some kind of pattern engraved to it, and the entire room seemed to be painted. There wasn't a single speck of dust anywhere, and frankly, it bothered Kuro. As he continued analysing the carpet, he felt a hand nudge his shoulder. He looked up to see Noir.

"Hey, uncle," said Kuro.

"Kuro, I need you to listen to me. This seems a little too good to be true for me. Don't tell your dad, but I think something's up. I want you to go check on our dress and socialize a little with the princess. If you sense that something is up, come straight to me. Got it?" prompted Noir. Kuro nodded. Shortly, he stood up and took to leave the room, just before Schwarz came out of the bathroom and caught him.

"Where are you going, son?" asked Schwarz, slightly indifferent.

"Don't worry, dad. I'm not causing any trouble. I just want to check out the architecture. It looks really pretty," lied Kuro. Schwarz gave a deep grunt of understanding, allowing Kuro to go.

Just as he was running through the corridors, he stopped dead in his tracks and got to thinking.

"Where the hell am I?" he asked himself.

-x-

After about an hour of running up and down, just looking for someone that he didn't even know how she looked, she finally bumped into someone. It was a girl that seemed to be the same height as himself, but looked slightly older and more developed. They both fell on the ground. While Kuro brushed off the impact with ease, the girl didn't have the same resilience. She wore a pink dress and had long-flowing tresses of blond hair.

"Ouch!" she yelped, rubbing her back. Kuro rushed over to help her up.

"I'm so sorry!" said Kuro… repeatedly… hoping that no one was there to see him do that and make things more awkward. He offered her a hand, which she took. He hoisted her up, and once upstanding, he began dusting her while continuously apologizing like his parents took away all of his toys.

"I'm fine," said the girl dismissively.

"I'm so sorry. I was just looking for someone," said Kuro. The girl perked up and gained a curious expression.

"Who? I know everyone in this palace, so you need only ask me," said the girl confidently.

"The princess. I heard she's getting married and I just wanted to see her dress," said Kuro innocently. The girl, however, frowned.

"What business do you have with her dress?" she asked, crossly.

"I want to see how my family's handiwork looks on her, it's nothing, really," said Kuro. The girl gasped.

"Your family made that dress? I heard once the wedding was done that your family would be rewarded with Nobility. What is your name?" asked the girl.

"It's Kuro," replied Kuro.

"My name is Alexandrina of the Sorwind family, sister of the princess," said the girl, grinning, revealing a shallow dimple on her left cheek. This caught Kuro slightly off.

"Y-you're the princesses sister? F-forgive my i-insolence," said Kuro, stuttereing as he waved his hands defensively. Alexandrina giggled.

"You're forgiven. Hey, let's be friends! I'll lead you to Anastasia right away,

-x-

Darkness encompassed Kuro's being. Then came a white spot of light in the middle of his vision, and then came voices.

"...wake uuup! Wake uuuup!" yelled a high voice. "Usopp, you better not have put him in a coma! That's no way to welcome him into our crew!" scolded the voice. The white spot became larger, and around his vision, he saw several fuzzy shapes gradually gain focus.

"Aw, come on, I didn't hit him that hard," said another voice, and one that Kuro recognized. Then, he heard a rustle of paper.

"Big Bro Luffy! Do you know who this guy is?! It's Kuro of a thousand plans!" yelled one voice which he didn't recognize. Kuro began moving his hand and tried reaching for his jaw in order to see how it had healed.

"H-how long was I out?" asked Kuro, his voice quaky. Nami was the first to reply.

"About three days. It's about time you're up!" said Nami. Kuro sat upright to see the people surrounding his bed. Around him were Luffy, Usopp, Nami and two other unknown figures. He glanced towards them, blinked once, and then got to asking.

"Who're they?" he asked.

"THAT;S A BIG RUDE, DONTCHA THINK?!" yelled the two in unison. "But if you really don't know, then feast your eyes on this! I am Johnny," said the guy with the shades and a tattoo on his cheek. "And I am Yosaku!" said the other who wore a protective headgear and had a cigarette perched on his lip. They both pulled out their swords and crossed them. "We are famed bounty hunters who've travelled far and wide to redeem every bounty we could get our hands on!" they both yelled.

"I-is that so? I should have known you lot would have turned me in by now," grumbled Kuro, highly disappointed in his so-called allies, but a deep feeling of betrayal was beginning to root itself into his heart, just before Luffy bonked both the bounty hunters on their heads.

"NO! WE AREN'T HANDING YOU IN, KURO!" yelled Luffy, highly annoyed at his guests' antics. "We found these bounty hunters along the way, right after Usopp nearly killed them with his awesome cannon-sniping trick,".

"You- you did what…?" asked Kuro blandly, not comprehending much of the current conversation.

"Enough about that, though. We're heading to the floating sea-restaurant, the baratie. We're gonna find our chef, there, too!" announced Luffy. Kuro's feelings were quickly restored, and frankly, he was happy that he wasn't being betrayed, but one question still lingered.

"Why are you here?" he asked, slightly surprised that the whole crew plus two, sans Zoro were present.

"I just wanted to make sure that you weren't dead is all," said Luffy. "Oh, also, here are your glasses. It didn't feel right to just throw them out since I could tell that it had sentimental value to you. It's really old, so it would be a shame to just trash it, so Usopp fixed it for you!" said Luffy. He handed Kuro a glasses case. Kuro opened it and saw his old glasses, but with necessary repairs. He couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you, Luffy," said Kuro. Luffy frowned.

:Thank Usopp, dumb-dumb," said Luffy. Kuro looked to see Usopp, but couldn't help but feel some bitterness over having the boy knock him down twice, and the second time it actually made him unconscious. He looked down to see his right hand, which had bandages before looking up to see Usopp eye-to-eye again.

"It was a kind gesture," spat Kuro out with gritted teeth. Usopp, sensing the aggression, reciprocated.

"The pleasure is mine," he gritted back. The ambience seemed to have become more chilly, was it not for two fists simultaneously bonking both Kuro and Usopp on their heads.

"No fighting! We're crewmates, now!" scolded Luffy.

"WE KNOW!" they both yelled as they, too, punched Luffy in the head. Kuro tried moving out of the bed to stand up a little and feel his injuries. His broken ribs had almost healed, and he wasn't getting anymore random headaches, so he took it as a good sign.

"Steady, there. You took a lot of damage, you know. I suggest you rest up one more day, and from then on, you'll be good to go. Kuro sneered as he heard that.

"Oh, please. I feel just fi-" was the only thing he could say before one of the bounty hunter duo hit the back of his head with a blunt club they had obtained from god-knows-where. Kuro fell limp onto the bed, unconscious.

"Or, we could do that," muttered Nami.

"Did we do well, big sis?!" the two yelled. Nami gained a tick on her forehead.

"It's like this ship is an idiot-magnet," ranted Nami quietly to herself.

* * *

A/N: Disregard my former A/N stating that I'd upload faster if I get more followers. That was a greedy thing to say, and frankly, I won't do that anymore. I'm sorry if you thought badly of me, and I won't repeat that mistake again.

Anyways, here's a new chapter. I think Kuro's backstory was necessary due to pacing issues. None of you want to read the same ol' boring canon, so I spico ed things up a little. I'd appreciate any constructive criticism and feedback.


	8. Chapter 7 - An Eventful Night, The Fall-

This is me literally being the biggest dickhead. I dunno why I posted so late. It's just... this flashback arc is so fucking hard to get over with! I've spent so many hours making it something I can be happy about. I just hope you can find even a little enjoyment out of this.

* * *

Chapter 7 - An Eventful Night, The Fall of Allea!

The crew was out and about, doing their usual activities aboard the ship. Usopp, who had more free time since he was finished repairing Kuro's glasses, played cards along with Luffy, Yosaku and Johnny. Zoro was, as usual, napping.

Johnny and Yosaku were two eccentric bounty-hunters that the Straw hats had encountered along the way to their next destination. After nearly endangering their lives with reckless cannon-firing, Nami had cured Yosaku of his scurvy, indebting the both of them to the Straw hats.

The moment the topic on proper nutritional intake at sea rose, on account of Yosaku's lack of Vitamin C, the bounty-hunting duo felt the need to direct the crew to a place where they could find a competent ship-cook, and so, they set sail towards the Baratie, also known as the floating restaurant. It's a humongous ship that's stationed strategically for easy navigation, but it spends most of its time in the middle of the sea. The seafood there is supposedly heavenly, as the produce is freshly caught. Fish seldom stays in the kitchen for more than a few hours there, as the rumour goes.

Kuro was still recovering from the battle that he had fought against Luffy, who wasn't quite damaged himself. While most of the crewmates still found it preposterous that a former enemy of such a caliber could suddenly become their crewmate, any opposing arguments would quickly be extinguished by the ship captain's cold and disapproving glare.

Usopp laid his cards down, revealing quite the deck. He had four of a kind, and wore a vulpine grin.

"Hah! Beat that," boasted Usopp. Groaning, the rest of the group laid down their own cards. None of them had the same strength as Usopp's which therefore allowed his win.

"Dammit," grumbled Luffy.

"Luck is on your side, Brother Usopp," stated Yosaku as he held his chin pensively. Johnny mimicked his pose.

"I concur," agreed Johnny.

Usopp pointed a finger swiftly towards Luffy victoriously.

"Now you'll have to tell me the whole story," he said. Luffy sighed, defeated.

"Alright, then. It started with me going out for a pee-break…"

xxx

The party had been going on for several hours. That meant several hours of food, drinks and alcohol for the two resident drunks. Lots of singing ensued, also.

It was in the middle of these festivities in which Luffy had an urge to relieve himself. Typically he could have held it in, but after having accidentally swallowed a whole chilly pepper, his water intake was nothing less than tremendous.

As he hobbled over to an outhouse not far away from the tavern, stomach bloated and face merry, he heard a noise, but decided to ignore it.

As he relieved himself, he heard the noise again. This time, he looked over his shoulder, spotting the silhouette of a rather tall man with long claws. His gait seemed extremely inefficient as he looked like he was hardly even able to walk. He couldn't even cloak the noise he made. All in all, he wasn't even trying.

Luffy sniffed the air, exaggeratingly. "Hm, the air's thick with blood and broken spirits," muttered Luffy.

Kuro said nothing.

"Come back for round two, Kuro?" threatened Luffy. "'Cuz if you did, I'll beat you all the same, despite my shape," he said as he patted his bloated stomach.

"No, I haven't. I want you to finish me off, straw hat boy. D-do you realize what you've done?" he asked. Luffy zipped his pants and turned around to face Kuro, glaring at him.

"What?"

"T-thanks t-to you, I have no crew," he stuttered, glaring viciously. "My men threw me overboard. They cast me out. I came here to finish our business," he said. Luffy couldn't help but scoff.

"Go away, Kuro. We're done, here," said Luffy. As though he wasn't there, Luffy walked right past Kuro. Before he could walk further, Kuro dropped his gloves and grabbed hold of Luffy's arm.

"You need to take responsibility, boy," said Kuro.

"Let go,"

"Not until you finish what you've started," retorted Kuro. Luffy held the offending arm and gripped it tightly.

"When I decided to become a pirate, it was because I wanted to do whatever I want," said Luffy. He leaned over to face Kuro directly, their faces inches from each other. "Get this, Kuro: I. Won't. Fight. You." He enunciated each word clearly. Kuro, reluctantly, let go of his arm. Luffy reciprocated before heading off. Right before he could get away, Kuro said something.

"I was a damned fool," he said. Luffy stopped to listen. "I thought I was at the top of the world. I thought I could do whatever I wanted, but I lost track of what was really important. I was about to do something I could never forgive myself for, all because of this irrational hate that has stuck to me for so long,"

"So what?" asked Luffy coldly.

"I did the little that I could do. I apologized. I've apologized to Kaya for lying. She obviously didn't take it well, but I did what I had to do. I apologized to my crew before they tossed me out like yesterday's garbage, but can I really blame them?" asked Kuro. He was waiting for a reply, but seeing as there was none, he continued. "Now, I apologize to you. I apologize to you for insulting you back then. I apologize for my impudence. I apologize for spouting nonsense in front of you. Most of all, I apologize for my weakness," he said.

A minute of silence passed. Both Kuro and Luffy remained still as they were thinking things through. Eventually, Luffy looked up, eyes determined.

"Kuro, are you still interested in the pirate life?" asked Luffy. Kuro looked at him dumbly for a moment, much to his annoyance.

"Huh?" replied Kuro _intelligently._

"You've got nowhere to go. You're strong, and you're not that bad, morally, at least," he said. "Will you join my crew?" he asked. A million emotions rushed through Kuro's head, but it was clear what his reply would be. He had no other choice, and frankly, he held no other man in such a high regard as he did the one who defeated him so effortlessly.

"Yes."

xxx

"...So, he said sorry," echoed Usopp blankly as he crossed his arms. Luffy nodded. "He killed most of his crew, almost killed Kaya, and probably dozens of other people. What about Kaya's parents? You expect me to believe that it was a coincidence?" he asked, crossing his arms.

They were conversing over another game of poker with the same contestants as the last time.

"We don't know if he killed them for sure, so don't be too hasty. Besides, he does seem like an okay guy. I can tell," said Luffy.

"Seems legit," muttered Usopp sarcastically. "Care for another round?"

"I've got a good feeling…" he chuckled insidiously as he removed his straw hat, pouring down cards of various kings, queens and jacks. "I'd probably win,"

Usopp immediately adopted a furious scowl as he pointed at his captain accusingly.

"Ch-Cheater!"

"Brother Luffy let you win, Brother Usopp," observed Yosaku calmly as he held his chin pensively. "If I were you, I would feel embarrassed over my victory,"

"I agree," added Johnny, parroting his partner's pose. "From the looks of it, he got you to play and lost on purpose. He was intending on telling you, but on the condition that you'd be calm enough to play through a poker game."

Thus, they both spoke in unison: "You played yourself."

"THAT'S ENOUGH FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY!" snapped Usopp.

Luffy stood up, once again fitting the hat onto his head, pulling the brim down to cover his eyes. "Give it time, Usopp… I'm sure you'll grow to accept him. Honestly, isn't making friends with past enemies a man's romance?" asked Luffy.

"Oh, no, no, no, no! Don't try and entice me by invoking the holy notion of the Man's Romance!" Usopp stood up as he refuted Luffy mock-angrily.

"Think about it!" Luffy continued, smiling widely. "Sharing drinks with those who were once your enemies, now exchanging stories and laughing together? Letting bygones truly be bygones, looking towards the endless future with your newfound friends?" Turning his back to Usopp, Luffy walked towards the edge of the ship, gazing towards the endless horizon. "As far as I'm concerned, the less hatred in this world, the better."

For once, Usopp had no comment on that. Instead, he raised his chin up, gazing at the skies. "Perhaps... "

XxX

The young princess led Kuro through the long and winding corridors, her pace preventing Kuro the pleasure of thoroughly enjoying the architecture.

More than once did Alexandrina have to drag Kuro out of his stupor borne from his amazement.

"Honestly, what do you find so interesting about corridors?"

"P-princess, these doors are all pearly white, and they blend so naturally with the walls. The wooden outlines all seem so firm and strong. It feels slightly inferior to metal! I have never seen such wood in my life!"

'He's so amazed by the door, I'm afraid he might fall comatose if he sees what's on the inside.' The princess simply rolled her eyes. Suddenly, an idea struck her.

"Hey! I'll take you to a place that looks ten times cooler than this boring old corridor! On the condition that you don't hold me up, that is," she suggested.

"Ah, of course!" Kuro hurriedly replied. "What are within most of these doors, though, princess?"

Alexandrina gave him a sidelong glance, a smug grin resting on her lips.

"Ah, it seems you _do_ have the daring to know what's inside these rooms." The doors were spaced fairly sparsely.

After walking for about five minutes, they happened upon a door that looked several times more majestic than the other ones that they had encountered before.

"That's my sister's room," she said before hurriedly covering her mouth with her hand. "Keep it down," she whispered. "Sister doesn't like it when I enter the room. We'll have to sneak in," she said.

"I could just go in to check on her dress because that's what I came here for at the end of the day," suggested Kuro.

Alexandrina gave her an icy glare that figuratively froze him on the spot.

"Insolence," she murmured. The word struck through Kuro's chest like a metallic spike. "You dare believe my sister will be merciful with the likes of _you_? Make no mistake, I am saving your life. A token of friendship, perhaps?"

Kuro couldn't help but shiver from the abrupt change of demeanor. Mustering his courage, he ventured to ask:

"How do we sneak in?"

"Leave that to me," she said cheekily as she offered him her hand. Reluctantly, Kuro took it.

"Try not to scream, alright?"

"Wait, w-why?"

Suddenly, the space in front of them distorted, rippling outwards like a turbulent pond. Alexandrina tore through thin air with a single finger, like it was paper. On the other side of the 'hole' was a multitude of servants surrounding someone wearing a dazzling dress. The woman had her back turned to them, so they couldn't see her face properly.

"W-what… what is this…?"

"Magic," the princess winked, feeling delighted over his reaction.

"H-how?"

"I'll tell you later. For now, follow me," she murmured. And thus, in they went, through the spatial tear, into a strange and expansive dimension where the sky was a vast white and the ground pitch black. Right in front of the initial tear was another one that acted as a window into Anastasia's bedchambers.

"Sh-shouldn't we hide…? Can't they see us?" he asked.

"Only if I want them to see us. It's like… when it's dark outside but bright inside and you can't see through the window. You'll only see your mirror image," she explained.

"Won't it be suspicious if they see a mirror-like object floating mid-air?"

"Must you take everything so literally? I'm trying to use an example of an instance where only one party can see the other. They can't see anything, but I can see everything. Just like through a window at night. Do you get it know?"

"I do, now…"

Not even an hour in with their friendship and Kuro was beginning to sense her overbearingness slowly suffocate him.

As he walked closer towards the spatial 'window', he got a better view of the dress.

"Well, at least they're fitting it nicely," muttered Kuro under his breath. The size of the dress was definitely the right size, and it fit the princess' body, not too tightly or loosely. It looked beautiful on her. "She's beautiful," he murmured, amazed by her lustrous body.

"Pfft," the second princess choked her laughter. "Wait til she turns around,"

"Huh?"

"Ouch!" yelled Princess Anastasia, turning around, glaring at the offending handmaiden who had pulled too tightly on her corset. "Are you looking to die, worthless hag?!" she seethed at the poor maid, causing her to stagger slightly.

"Forgive me, your majesty. I was careless!" she said as she bent the knee, lowering her head.

"Hah!" From inside the black and white plane, Alexandrina began to laugh wildly. "Maybe if you stuck to the diet that Madame Keane prescribed you, you wouldn't be in this pickle, you ugly bull-moose!"

It was true. Princess Anastasia had a potato-like nose with nostrils the size of grapes. They flared every time she took a breath, giving the appearance of a bull. Her eyes, too, were utterly wide as though she was born without eyelids. Two perfect circles of white sclera and blue pupils lay horizontally to each other on her face.

Her grimace was grotesque enough to send Kuro reeling to the floor.

"I-I've been lied to…" whispered Kuro. "This… this isn't right… My family spent whole days doing nothing but perfecting this dress for an entire month, only for it to have been worn by this haunted house attraction?"

"What, you thought all nobles were beautiful, cute, or both like I am?" she asked.

"It's fine, it's fine," Kuro consoled himself, ignoring his friend's narcissistic comment. "One of the biggest reasons for why it took so long to make it was because we were understaffed, and we had a mediocre workshop. We'll be in much better straits once we become nobles. We'll be able to make at least one of these in a week instead of a month."

"Are you ignoring me?" asked the princess sourly.

"What's more, it doesn't matter who wears it… it's but a symbol of our hard work and our ticket to nobility. We have already redeemed our ticket. The dress can burn for all I care, after the wedding, of course…"

"You are ignoring me, aren't you?" she pouted, crossing her arms.

"Thus, my final mission before I can kick back and live in nobility will be to see to it that this dress doesn't get mishandled."

"It sure is sparkly," commented Alexandrina.

"Tsk, what an eyesore. They glittered it using different colors that don't match the dress. What incompetence," sneered Kuro.

"I dunno, it looks cute."

"I don't think it is, Your Majesty," replied Kuro somewhat aggressively.

"Just Alexandrina. You can also call me Alex if it's too much of a mouthful."

"Okay, Alex," replied Kuro swiftly reinvesting himself on the dress.

"What? Not a 'But, milady, I can't possibly…' or a 'I am not worthy milady!'?" she asked.

"You read too many romantic novels," deadpanned Kuro in reply. Suddenly, the handmaidens made way for the princess as she walked out through the door, lead by an elderly madame in a green dress. "Where are they going?" asked Kuro.

"Probably the wedding banquet where she will reunite with her man. Since she's marrying some weird guy wearing some kinda helmet, apparently they won't need a priest since the weirdo 'is the law'," she used air-quotes.

"Weird," muttered Kuro. As he looked at the empty room, he approached the spatial window, trying to push his hand through, but failing. "Can I exit?" he asked politely. The princess walked over and tore space like paper, creating a gateway big enough for an adult to walk through.

"How do you do that?" he asked as he walked through the tear, finding himself in Anastasia's bed-chamber. Looking behind himself, expecting to see Alexandrina following, he instead sees nothing. 'Wow, I really can't see anything'.

Out of thin air, moments later, Alexandrina emerged. Despite being prepared, he couldn't help but jump slightly.

"I say it's magic because I really don't know much about it. None of my family members seem to have it and I don't want to be the odd one out so I've kept it secret thus far, but you're my friend, now, so I trust you," she said firmly.

'She wouldn't last a day in the slums… her naivete is astounding…' Kuro thought as he stared at her blankly. "When did you find yourself with this… magic?" he asked.

"If I could pick the most fitting time, it was when I witnessed a shooting star, wishing for magic. That, however, was years ago. My magic truly began to manifest after I ate this swirly, blue pear two months back. It tasted horrible. Later on, I stumbled upon my ability by accident. I still don't fully understand it, but I'm content that my wish came true."

All the while, Kuro was listening attentively while at the same time searching the drawers, interested in the baubles that the handmaidens left during the dress-fitting. 'Way better than the stuff in our place, yet they settle for costly products over actual quality… wealth really is wasted on the wealthy.'

"Sounds like a devil fruit to me," muttered Kuro, recalling a story of a fruit giving people powers. "If it really is one, I heard you can never travel through the sea… and you'll die if you touch water."

"Nonsense!" Rebuked Alex furiously. "I drink water, don't I? Do I look like someone dead to you?" she asked.

"You've got a point," muttered Kuro as he emptied a pouch of glitter on the table. He leaned in closer to smell the faint sulfuric scent. 'Smells like matches'. "It's just a legend. I'm only retelling what I've heard."

Kuro reached for his pocket, removing a small rectangular drawer-like box. He pushed out the box inside the bigger box, revealing a set of matches. Lighting the match, he piled a pinch of the glitter next to the larger pile, but far enough away to prevent an unforeseen event. The moment the lit match came into contact with the powder, it began to burn profusely, producing a flame several times greater than that from the match.

"What is going on?" asked Alex from behind. She lay sprawled on her sister's bed, staring at the ceiling, writing her name on the air by tearing space. The sudden fire caught her attention, looking towards Kuro in an alarmed manner.

"Flammable glitter? No, forget that, this is inflammable!" exclaimed Kuro. "Uncle had a hunch that this wasn't going to be an ordinary night, and he sure was right!"

"W-what is going on, Kuro?" she asked with a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"How much do you love your sister?" Asked Kuro seriously.

"W-we fight a lot, but I can't hate her…" she replied.

"I'll need all the help I can get. Tonight, our mission will be to prevent your sister's death. I'll give you a general mission right now. Keep all fires away from your sister. If someone approaches her with a lit candle, blow it using your power. As for the rest, I'll talk to my family regarding this. Stay safe, Alex," Kuro said quickly. With that out of the way, he darted out of the room, leaving behind a confused and shocked princess.

xXx

"This certainly is quite dispiriting," mumbled Noir after he finished digesting the intel gathered by his nephew. "At any rate, I can finally have some peace of mind knowing that something like this is going to occur."

"I say we tell the king and get him to order all the candles blown," muttered Schwarz, the bear-like tailor, jokingly.

"Yeah…. No," muttered Noir as he ruffled his own hair lightly. "There's obviously more to it than that… something smells very fishy, here. Could it be that there's a traitor among the royal staff? This one sure is playing the long con, then,"

"Long con?" asked Kuro.

Noir explained. "A few months back, the royal palace was turned upside down, with a mass vetting of every staff member by the king himself. He had his court truth teller vet every single staff member for treachery. Quite a few were found out, then promptly hanged. The gallows were overbooked that day. Everyone wondered what drove him to smoke out all these traitors, but considering who his daughter is marrying, it was the least he could do."

The weird helmet-wearing guy must have been a pretty big deal, then.

"Who could have slipped the cracks?" Noir asked himself.

"What about the truth-teller himself?" asked Kuro.

"The king's childhood friend? They both served in the same squad in the navy. Those two are as close as brothers. There's no way the truth teller could be the traitor. He has stakes in the kingdom after all, and it's any way in his best interest for Princess Anastasia to marry Saint Nicklaus."

"Uncle, how do you tell truth? It seems far-fetched to me that something like that can actually be a skill."

"Yeah, it does," admitted Noir. He stood up and picked up some small black, zipped bags that they had brought with them, smuggled beneath their clothes. "Honestly, knowing whether someone tells the truth if someone utters a statement like 'the one piece is real', 'God exists', or 'my missing child is in location x' is quite possibly an ability on par with the omniscience of a veritable god. Quite possibly, he's more of a lie detector than a truth teller."

"A lie detector? What if you truly believe that you aren't a traitor? What if you think selling your country out is for the best, sincerely?" asked Kuro, trying to make sense of it all.

"The questions asked aren't just whether you are a traitor or if you ever plan to betray the kingdom. Concrete questions like 'Are you intending to somehow hinder the future wedding' or 'are you intending to ever sell the kingdom's secrets to outsiders' hit the mark much better, and it allows the lie detector to make an accurate judgement."

"What if you forgot that you were going to betray the kingdom, then suddenly you remember it afterward?" asked Kuro, jokingly, as he twiddled his thumbs in boredom.

"That's absurd, but plausible. Among the greatest spies in the East Blue, there are some with the self-control sufficient enough to actually forget, archive or remember practically every single moment of their lives. Quite handy if you expect to be questioned by a lie detector. Anyways, now that there's a pretty confirmed case of an assassination plot, we should get in touch with the royal guard commander before things get awry. As for you, brother." he threw one of the two black duffel bags at Schwarz. "The moment you are to remove the contents of _that_ bag, it's highly likely that our chances of nobility are nil. If that comes to happen, preserving your life is more important than angering the ultimate kind of royalty."

'The helmet-wearing guy is 'ultimate royalty?'' wondered Kuro in his heart.

"What's in the bag?" asked Kuro, curiously.

"Weapons," Noir replied simply. As he dug into his pocket, he produced a foldable pocket knife and threw it lightly at his nephew's lap. "You might want to hold onto this too. In case a quiet assassination won't bear fruit, I'm absolutely certain that it might turn into a more high-profile all-out battle."

"I-I'm… kind of scared" admitted Kuro, albeit reluctantly. His father was the one to reply.

"Man up, would ya? I sure as hell didn't raise you to be a weakling. You've already used up your allowance to cry when your mother died. If I ever catch your eyes leaking, God help me I'll-"

"Shut up, you moron!" said his uncle in an annoyed tone, kicking him in the head.

"Why, you..!" Schwarz quickly recovered, delivering a hard right to his brother's face, which the nimble tailor dodged. While scuffling, Kuro took that as a chance to escape and find a good hiding place so that he could watch the banquet. Before walking out the door, his uncle called him once again.

"Oh! And make sure to stay out of sight, nephew-OURFH!" A fist to his mouth interrupted the advice, which was Kuro's cue to leave.

xXx

The banquet hall was absolutely pristine. The floor was decked with pearly-white and blue tiles in an alternating pattern. The ceiling was tens of meters in the air, requiring the room to have huge pillars to support its weight. The pillars were several meters in diameter and stood imposingly, as though not even a tsunami could cause it to budge an inch.

The room was absolutely massive, capable of holding a thousand men comfortably and ten times that amount if need be. In the center was a table that spanned for nearly a hundred meters. From one extreme to the other, the social standing of each person would decrease from high to low.

On the extreme furthest from the banquet hall entrance sat the groom on a seat much higher and much more lavish than the rest. So high, in fact, that in the event where he would have to eat, he would need someone to bring his plate to him as the table was far too low, not that he was planning on eating commoner's food. He wore a white body-suit and had a glass helmet encompassing his head like a dome. His hairstyle was positively whacky, resembling that of a dragon taking flight, and there seemed to be snot running down one of his nostrils perennially as though the task of simply snuffling the snot into his nose was too far beneath him. He couldn't clean it with a tissue even if he tried, as his helmet wouldn't allow that. He could always hold his breath for fear of breathing commoner's air, remove the helmet, dry his nose, then put the helmet back on and let his breath out, but that task was simply far too tedious for someone of his standing.

Saint Nicklaus Fleur of Mariejois, an honest-to-god World Noble.

Next to him, on a much lower elevation, sat his wife-to-be, Anastasia Sorwind, the first princess of the Kingdom of Allea. Her dress was, as explained by her groom, 'adequate, albeit lacking, for the occasion'.

After those two were the king and queen, sitting opposite of each other, and the various princes and princesses of the kingdom, including Alexandrina. Afterwards were the various ministers and other politicians of high standing as well as a multitude of other politicians of other nations, coming, if nothing else, to pay their respects to the Ultimate Royalty.

All the while, Kuro had found a nice spot to watch on top of a chandelier which took him quite a few tries to reach. It couldn't be helped, however. At the doors were several guards serving only the World Nobles. They wore black suits, hats and had insignias on their left breast-pockets depicting a vertical and horizontal line crossing, each line rounded at each end and in the intersection. They were fairly intimidating and none could pass without an invitation, which the tailor-family wasn't graced with, sadly enough.

The only other option was to ascend to a floor that was level with the chandeliers dangling overhead in the banquet hall, open a window and jump through, praying that one wouldn't fall. Of course, Kuro's acrobatic skills weren't low enough as to be unable to manage such an elementary jump.

"It should be fairly impossible for anyone to try something. Even if someone tried torching the dress, there'd still be half a dozen guards ready to dose the flames in a moment's notice after what Uncle told them. Though it's kinda crazy how the handmaiden responsible for the glitter said that she couldn't remember where she got it from. Stupid dead-ends. I'm never becoming a detective if I can help it."

As the guests concluded their eating, the World Noble finally spoke up.

"The people present in this room are all of the noble birth, and a few of you are even royalty. Know that I acknowledge each and every one of you as… worthy of being looked at."

The entire hall began gasping in glee. The females began to tear up in euphoria and the males couldn't hold back from grinning widely despite their noble origins.

"I am taking this Anastasia Sorwind as one of my thirty-nine concubines, such that she will be the fortieth."

The hall began to applaud. For ten whole minutes, they applauded. Hands got swollen, and some even started to bleed.

"I am the law, so there shall not be a priest. I am a God, so there shall not be any vows but this one. You may live in Mariejois with me and your fellow concubines and enjoy a tenth of the pleasures that I enjoy. I am generous like that."

This triggered another bout of clapping.

"And to prove how generous I am, I will pay back to this kingdom a pocket-change of ten billion berries. A God like me usually doesn't pay commoners like you for anything. I, however, am different. I am a benevolent God. I will take and I will reimburse, and you shall write my name on the heavens for me. You shall never forget this kindness. You may now clap."

The third bout of clapping ensued, and one that lasted for at least half an hour. By now, few people could even use their hands.

"I grow weary of your company, however. With my new bride, we shall set sail to Mariejois by tonight. I know that my company has sated your happiness for several lifetimes, and thus I shall take my leave-"

BANG

Immediately, Kuro's attention shifted from the individual crystals on the chandelier to what was going on beneath.

A bullet whizzed through the air, travelling faster than any normal bullet had any business doing. From the other end of the long table stood a tall and thin man who wore minister-clothing, a monocle and had a thick mustache. The gun was as big as his arm, and the muzzle as large as a lion's mouth. The projectile would have reached its mark in nanoseconds if it wasn't for another bullet hitting it right as it appeared in front of Saint Fleur's face.

One of the closest people to him, a man wearing a long beige-coloured trench-coat, a brown fedora and a black suit with white vertical stripes, had his own gun out in the nick of time. He had long, black curly hair tinged with grey and had scythe-shaped eyebrows, with the handle starting a centimeter from the sellion of his nose, and the blade pointing downwards from the apex. He also had a beard in the form of two black vertical bars right under the corner of each of his lips.

"Your safety has been compromised, Esteemed God. Come with me at once," he said. "We have a code black! Lock down the building. Not a soul in or out!"

The CP0 went to work. They began to round up the nobles into herds and watched them. Upon issuing the order, the head of Saint Fleur's security detail approached the World Noble.

"Nonsense!" Sputtered the World Noble. "I am a God! I have treated my sheep well. Who dares?!" He yelled, absolutely livid. "I have granted this measly-" Tired of listening to the World Noble, the CP0 agent simply disappeared and appeared behind the noble, lodging a knife-hand into the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious.

By then, the would-be-assassin had already been apprehended, cuffed and secured.

Suddenly, a noble shaved right behind the CP0 agent that was arguing with the World Noble and tried to launch a sneak-attack. The CP0 agent dodged to the left like a paper being hit by wind. As he turned around, he quickly shot his hand out and held the noble by his neck. The noble tried to resist, but the grip tightened.

"Betrayal… hatred… planned assassination… Monkey D. Dragon... Yonko…" the CP0 agent immediately began to prod the man with words and phrases. "Not Monkey D. Dragon, but Revolutionary Army? Who? Scarred face…? Cloak? Grimmgol? Huh… You are of no use to me now." And just like that, the CP0 squeezed and the infiltrator died.

"That was brutal." commented someone airly. The voice sounded mirthful and it quieted down the heavy hubbub of frightened chatter. The lights flickered, and suddenly, a man appeared on top of the table. He wore a long cloak, had rough hair and a scar running down the left side of his forehead all the way down to his neck. "For a beginner."

"Grimmgol Krek? You were exiled from the Revolutionary Army nine years ago, buy the Dragon himself. Have you come to administer your own twisted brand of justice?"

"I came here because I wanted to. See, this entire palace, nay, the kingdom itself is an eyesore. I'm going to rub it out from existence. The funny thing? There's literally nothing you can do to stop me."

And with that, the CP0 agent dashed towards the former Army soldier and punched as hard as he could. Krek responded by grabbing the punch with blackened fingers, crunching the fist with his death-grip while cackling like a maniac.

"You expect me to cry?" cracked the CP0 agent as he grinned. "Life return." The fingers that seemed almost completely broken healed almost instantaneously as the punch continued further in. Krek could no longer hold the punch, letting it slide past his hand, planting itself on his nose, blowing him back several tens of meters.

Krek stood up, dusting his cloak before cracking a mad grin. "It doesn't matter if I die. We are all going to share the same damn grave, now!" He dug out from his pocket a golden clump. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a shell similar to that of a snail, only it had a button on top. "Wakey wakey, snaily, trololololololololol!" A snail oozed out from the shell, as golden as its house.

Tens of thousands of miles away, in an island hailed as the Marine's most impenetrable fortress, Marineford, Admiral Sengoku's office was chaotic.

"Where… where… where?! Where could I have put it?!" he murmured as he turned all of his belongings upside down.

Down the hallway, an obnoxious voice called out. "Hey, goat-lover, I just got a new shipment of rice-crackers and they taste scrum-diddly-umptious- wait, what's going on here?!" yelled Vice-Admiral Garp as he looked around the admiral's office. Even his pet goat was buried in papers.

"Not now, Garp. I do not need your bullshit at the moment."

"C'mon!" drawled Garp loudly. "When have I ever listened to you when you tell me to stop bugging ya?"

Sengoku dashed over to Garp and held him by his collar. His skin began to turn into a hint of yellow as he spoke. "When a vice-admiral loses something, life goes on, but when…" he took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, failing as his skin became more golden, and his size inflating. "When an admiral like me does the same thing, life. Doesn't. Fucking. Go. On!"

"You've sworn twice in one minute. What did you lose?" asked Garp, donning a rather serious countenance.

"My Golden Transponder snail…"

Sengoku whispered it, but the words still hit Garp's head like a sledgehammer. Immediately, he expanded his consciousness via Haki in an attempt to locate the snail.

"No point." interrupted Sengoku. "If Haki worked, I wouldn't be standing around here like an idiot, would I?" Flustered, Sengoku directed his ire into a nearby cabinet, punching it once, shattering the entire thing.

From the ruins of the cabinet appeared a snail. It looked like a child had been given a gold-colored paint-brush and the snail became one of its victims. There were spots on it that weren't gold, and there wasn't even a transceiver on it. For all intents and purposes, it was just a regular snail painted gold.

"Is that…?" Sengoku blanched.

Garp went to pick it up. Just as he touched it, the snail began to laugh uproariously.

"TROLOLOLOLOLOLO **HIHIHIHI!** Bitch, you got played! Don't worry, though. It's only single use, so that's only a few million lives gone. Man, what a metric _fuckton_ of blood that is!"

Garp's face grew ugly to behold as he struggled not to pulverize the damn snail. "It's a recording." Said Garp, his face utterly devoid of blood.

"You might be wondering how I took it. I'm not telling, bitch. I'll be dead and gone waaaay before any of you can even spit on my corpse, so don't worry 'bout the revenge part. It's been a pleasure living in this fucked up world, and I'm happy to take down a whole island with me as I go. My only regret was that I couldn't do the same to those fucktards up in Mariejois. I've got nothing more to say other than this: please don't kill the poor snail. He's just the messenger. Or do. Not that I wouldn't expect you to, you're all animals anyway."

And like that, the snail regained its regular listless expression.

"Only the Five Elders can intercept a Buster Call…" Sengoku said with an airy voice. "To get to them, I'll have to run it past Kong and get him to contact them By the time the Gorosei could reach the Buster Call Centre, they'd already have deployed. All those people…" Sengoku closed his eyes as he drew a long breath.

Garp laid a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get to work. We'll make sure nothing like this ever happens again. It wasn't your fault. There's a mole in our midst, obviously. The sooner we get to flush him out, the better."

"I'm taking a leave, Garp," said Sengoku, voice determined. "I have to repent."

"Do what you want," said Garp, knowing that wherever Sengoku would go, Marineford would always be his home. His absence was only temporary.

Tens of thousands of miles, on an island nation currently facing its imminent doom, a CP0 agent and an exiled Revolutionary stood, face to face, one with a golden snail on his hand.

"You wouldn't… you wouldn't _fucking_ dare!" the CP0 agent finally lost his cool as he began to howl obscenities.

 _Click_

"Just fucking did, pal. TROLOLOLOLOLOLO!"

"EVACUATE EVERYONE! KILL ANY INSURGENT THAT YOU SEE! I DEALING WITH KREK!" and just like that, an all-out struggle began.

Krek and the CP0 collided with an explosive force. The rest of the CP agents present began to evacuate the nobles, leading them out of the palace and towards the docks.

All the while, Kuro looked at the unfolding madness, a scared glint in his eyes. Just then, a tear began to form right in front of his face. Out from the spatial tear came a hand. A delicate hand belonging to a young girl. The hand grabbed hold of Kuro's collar and pulled him in.

"Whua!" The young boy squealed as Alex pulled him into the dichromatic plane.

A sad expression greeted him. "I'm scared, Kuro…!"

"M-me too. Papa tells me that I can't say that a lot, though. Wait… I need to see my family… To see if they're fine. Bring me to them, please!"

Alex nodded and grabbed him by his cuffs as she dragged the poor boy to a nondescript area inside the infinitely stretching and uniform plane. With a wave of her hand, she tore out some space casually, allowing them a window to the real world. From this window, they could see both Schwarz and Noir battling random insurgents on the streets, acting as security for the nobles. "We should reel them in." Said Kuro.

"Uh-oh… I can't hold it up any longer…"

"Hold what up?"

The plane minimized as it all came whizzing towards Alex, who apparently was the epicenter of the world.

A moment later, both Alex and Kuro were dropped in the middle of a battle against some insurgents and Kuro's family.

"Kuro!" Yelled both Noir and Schwarz in absolute horror. An insurgent was about to attack them when Schwarz brought his bulk between the attacker and his son. A knife lodged itself into his gut, but that wasn't nearly enough to take out the man-bear. With a single haymaker, Schwarz turned the man's entire head into bloody paste. "Get to the docks! Now! Don't even wait for us!"

Kuro didn't have to be told twice. With one hand he grabbed Alex as he began running towards the shore-line a few miles ahead.

The entire kingdom was at a state of emergency. The entire army was currently escorting the noblemen and the foreign politicians to the docks, their ships ready to take off at any moment. A CP0 agent had already carried off Saint Fleur, along with his bride (lest they invoke the ire of the World Noble) to the Celestial Dragon Fleet.

Meanwhile, the country was in an all-out war. Ships meant to evacuate commoners were packed to the literal brims, and people had to resort to violence to have a chance to enter, thieves capitalized on the chaos to make a few extra loots and life-long businessmen gave up everything they owned for their lives as they escaped the raging kingdom.

In but a few hours, the quiet night turned into a night of bloodshed, slaughter, and callousness never before seen in the sleepy country of Allea.

Kuro and Alex were reaching close to the docks. It was a fairly large dock, but it still couldn't comfortably hold all the thousands of people scrambling to get on a ship. Right as they stepped foot on the piers, a soldier caught sight of them.

"Princess Alexandrina!" Yelled the soldier as he ran towards her as fast as he could. Just as he reached her, he stretched out his hand. "Come with me at once. The King has been worried. Your presence might ease his mind!"

Without a word, Alexandrina let go of Kuro's hand and held onto the soldier's as they pushed their way through the crowd. Throughout the way, Alexandrina would still sneak a glance to see if Kuro was following. Finally, after a few minutes, they arrived at the grand ship that was currently being boarded by a select few noblemen. Compared to the other ships, this one was relatively sparse, not nearly as densely populated as the common ships.

The king, who was standing on the edge of the ship, resting his hands on the railing, spotted his daughter amidst the crowd. "Alexandrina, darling! Board at once!" He ordered. The thick crowd parted in favor of Alexandrina and her company. Just as Kuro was to follow, a guard placed his spear right in front of him, blocking his path.

"Begone, urchin."

"Urchin? I'm Alex's friend!" He protested indignantly. The princess looked back, her face growing angrier as she watched her friend get mistreated.

"How dare you!" yelled Alexandrina as she pushed the guard as hard as she could, causing him to inch to the side. "He is my friend! Allow him passage at once-"

"Alexandrina?! What are you wasting your time with?! Forget the urchin and hop aboard!" the King was rather angry now.

Alexandrina turned around to glare at her father. "He is my friend!"

"Friend?! He's an urchin! Get on this ship right now, or help me God I will-"

"He was of the family that tailored the dress! He's now a noble, so he has the right to board the Frenchman!" she retorted.

"Guards! Carry her into the ship. I will not tolerate this insubordination!" she said.

The guards approached the princess ominously. "Don't you lay your hands on me!" Of course, a king's order was much heavier than a lowly princess not even of age. One carried her up, putting her on his shoulder. As much as she could kick and scream, the man was seven feet tall and a veritable titan. "I can't…! I can't leave Kuro here!"

All the while, Kuro was being forcibly repelled by the guards who pointed their spears at him, forcing him to retreat. Tears threaten to leak from his eyes, but he willed them to return. "Damn nobles… damn king… damn… everything!"

In the palace, which was now almost completely demolished, two figures stood. The CP0 agent who saved Saint Fleur's life earlier and Grimmgol Krek, a nine-hundred-million-berry-worth-head destined to wreak havoc wherever he went.

"Tic toc, agent. The battleships will be here any minute now."

Krek looked absolutely terrifying. Lacerations covered his body from top to toe, his clothes were tattered and his face was slightly paler than it was before. Nevertheless, he maintained a pose that exuded confidence, as though he hadn't just fought a life or death battle.

The agent looked better. He had a few bruises here and there, but his clothes were mostly intact, and his face was untouched. If anything, he looked to be on the winning side. The agent smirked as he lifted the hat from his head and threw it to the side

"It's just a Buster Call. I probably won't die. No, I'll just take your head with me back to CPHQ and get a promotion. I am grateful for everything that has lead to this encounter, therefore."

There was a slight pause before Krek replied.

"You have a son, don't you…? I've never liked killing family-people."

"You're dooming an entire island of people. Hypocrite." the agent said this in a completely flat tone.

"Hi kettle! The name's pot. Did you know that we're both black?" Said Krek. "I've had about enough of this foreplay bullshit. I'll fucking kill you right now and be done with it. Meet your end, Rob Lucca."

"Funny. I was going to say the same thing." suddenly, the CP0 agent named Rob Lucca transformed. He grew taller and wider as his skin began to grow fur. His fur was grey with black spots on them. "Zoan Hybrid: Snow Leopard Human."

"Using your fruit, huh? Eh, I've got nothing." Grimmgol began to chuckle. "But… what I do have." he dug into his pocket before removing nothing but his own fist, raising it in front of his face. "Is this." and immediately, the fist turned completely black, not even allowing light to reflect from it.

"Six Arts Culmination Technique: Rokuogan: Seventh Transformation!/I'm gonna fucking kill you!" The two bestial figures rushed against each other, one preparing to utilize the pinnacle of Six Arts techniques, the Seventh Transformation of Rokuogan, and the other pouring his everything into a single haki-imbued fist to shake the heavens. A split of a split second later, the two collided.

There was no longer a palace in Allea. Not even rubble. There's only dust.

* * *

Here's a prelude to what happens later on in the story: Remember how Shanks DIDN'T lose an arm? Yeah, that gets pretty important in the long run. Trust me it will.

Remember what the lost arm ties to. The man he can no longer spar with because of the lack of an arm.

Anyway, I'll be posting the eight chapter in 2017, I can assure you of that.


	9. Chapter 8 - Absolute Destruction

I actually did it. It's kinda short, yeah, but if we average both the chapters out, it's basically 5k words, which is my standard. Anyways, what I appreciate the most are reviews. Please leave some. Even if you're just commenting on one line which you found pretty cool (or not), I'm okay with that.

I dunno where the fuck I took this flashback. I even had to retconn some shit to make it work. Nonetheless, I'm happy with it.

* * *

Chapter 8 - Absolute Destruction

The island was quiet. Most of the ships had already set sail. The fighting had, only minutes ago, raged and raged as if it was the last day on earth. For all they knew, it was.

That was until the explosion. The royal palace sat on top of a natural hill which rose hundreds of meters above sea-level, grand enough for everyone to see. Despite this, there wasn't anything to see anymore. The palace was now but a naked hill. The explosion had deafened the raging battle, and all eyes were on the hill.

And on that very hill, two figures stood. One ravaged beyond belief, missing a right hand, a large part of his face as well as skin on fifty percent of his body, and the other a bestial form seven feet tall, with grey fur dotted with black leopard print. He was also wounded, having large gashes all across his chest. His breathing was ragged and erratic. His once immaculate suit was tattered, and his countenance was that of pure, unbridled fury.

Grimmgol opened his mouth to speak. His voice was hoarse, but loud enough to be heard across the space of twenty meters. "You look tired." He wheezed. "Why don't you lie down and… die?"

Lucca responded with a feral growl. "Right back at ya…" Just as he made a move to attack once again, his Observation Haki revealed something extremely surprising.

Grimmgol Krek was a troubled man. The voice of his soul was one of continuous roaring, shining darkly, sending shivers down lesser men's spines.

However, as of that day, there was no voice. Grimmgol Krek's lifeless body stood there, blood silently trickling from his stump, eyes dead, but his expression nonetheless horrifying.

He had died.

Lucca sighed. "It took me 100% of my power to survive that. If he had another punch like that, I would surely have died." As he turned around and began heading for the shoreline, he glanced back at the still-standing corpse of the deceased anarchist. His expression showed a grim smile.

"I guess…" mumbled Lucca. "Smiling upon death is only limited those middle-named D and… the incurably mad."

And with that, he wandered off.

xXx

"Papa?"

"Uncle?"

Kuro's lost voice could barely penetrate the violent hubbub of the city that was currently tearing itself apart.

Kuro continued to run around, looking for his family wherever he could, but finding nothing. While most of the activity occurred at the shoreline, there were still minor skirmishes in the town center. Chaos had that effect on people.

Kuro, as nimble as ever, kept injuries to an absolute minimum, not having been hurt even once since this whole affair commenced.

xXx

"Father, how could you?!"

Alexandrina was currently pelting his father with all sorts of curses, completely unable to accept the fact that she had just been forced to leave her first true friend behind where he would surely die.

"How could you do this-" Alexandrina's rant was cut short by a furious slap, sending her sprawling across the deck. This was the first time the king had ever laid a hand on any of his children, and this was the first time Alexandrina had ever been laid a hand on.

"Stop this idiocy immediately. We have lost everything, and you still cry for the life of a lowly commoner?" The king was furious.

Undeterred, Alexandrina stood up and swallowed the blood in her mouth. "He was going to become a noble. You gave your word."

"He wasn't one yet!" he barked. "You better shut your mouth before I sew it shut myself. Alexandrina, I will have none of this anymore!"

With a huff, Alex walked into the cabins, tears streaming down her face.

xXx

In the deep horizon, giant ships began to surface. Ships large enough to swallow small islands all came in a single line on the southern shore. There were ten in total. Their lights were blinding, and their sheer size could send lesser men frothing in their mouths.

The Buster Call was commencing.

Unlike their more wieldy and agile counterparts, the Battleships were absolutely humongous, their main mast at a staggering 80 meters, and and the bulk of the ship being fifty meters wide.

But…

Just like their more wieldy and agile counterparts, they were fast. Their enormous sails captured enough wind to send the bulk of the ship sailing faster than a bird could fly. Despite just having surfaced from the horizon, they were already a few kilometers from the shorelines.

From atop a building stood a man in a tattered suit, fedora and overcoat. He looked over at the shore. A grim smile creeped onto his face.

"It was but a sand castle…" Lucca snuck a glance behind at the bare hill where a magnificent palace once lay. "A house of cards… They thought themselves mighty, immortal and indestructible… but as they say… ashes to ashes.."

The first barrage just occurred.

Ten shots from ten battleships, with shells the size of horses, hurtling towards the modest island several times the speed of sound.

Battleships were made to wreak havoc, and cannons were but their tools. The shells hit. And just like that, around five percent of the entire island was decimated, and half of that amount become nothing more than the finest powder.

Havoc was wreaked.

Lucca's smile widened.

"...and dust to dust."

Lucca looked at the fleeing ships, seeing how they, too, weren't exempt from the unholy wrath of a Buster Call. "...therein, in their hubris and false pride, they were kings of themselves, and of lesser men. Now… they are nothing but cockroaches scurrying in front of the absolute power of the World, of the true Gods." The fleeing vessels began to explode under the fire of the World Government.

And then, he began to sing. It was a song without lyrics. His mentor used to sing that very song when confronted with the resting place of thousands, an occurrence highly probable if one is a CP0.

It was a dirge.

xXx

"Papa?! Papa?!"

Kuro was still wandering around aimlessly, with a burning need to find his family. Moreso, definitely, after the first barrage had made its permanent mark on the once-so-prosperous kingdom.

As he walked in between two buildings, intent on searching through a parallel street, he immediately heard a faint cry.

"Kuro/Son!"

Immediately, sandwiched between the two buildings, he pushed himself up and arrived at the rooftop of one building.

"Papa! Uncle?!" he yelled once again.

"We're here!" Yelled his father. From the direction of his voice, a few hundred meters away stood two men. Both of them were gravely injured, bleeding and unable to walk properly. Nonetheless, they were happy that their family was still alive.

Kuro began to run.

Both his father and uncle were smiling brightly.

Something was wrong with their smiles, however. They seemed too final. Like the fight was already over when it was far from.

An ugly feeling began to manifest in Kuro's stomach.

As he hurried on faster and faster, he was about fifty meters away from his family before…

A man grabbed hold of him, carried him and ran opposite where Kuro was, away from his family. He had enough time, however, to see his uncle and father disappear in the flash of an enormous shell exploding.

Kuro's smile stemming from the relief of seeing his family never faltered. It was as though what he just witnessed was so unbelievable, it wasn't even worth considering.

The mysterious man put him down on a random rooftop. He wore a tattered suit, a fedora resting on top of his black-with-grey-streaks curly hair. His hands were on his pockets as he looked at where the shell struck.

"They were in the epicenter," he commented nonchalantly. "My apologies."

And like a freight-train powered by 100% Cola, realization struck Kuro.

They're dead.

Uncle Noir. Papa… they're both dead… and so is mom…

No one…

I have…

No one…!

No one…!

Kuro didn't cry because he couldn't. The amount of information he was parsing couldn't allow for that. Then, after a while, tears threatened to leave his eyes, but then another thought struck him.

"Kuro…" Schwarz whispered softly to his son as his wife, Kuro's mother was being lowered into her eternal resting place. The sun was shining, but the color of the world was dulled to the point of being grey.

All the while, tears were streaming down Kuro's face.

"Life is about suffering…" said Schwarz. Kuro nodded once. "But what puts you above others is your ability to persevere. Crying is weakness. Don't do it unless you absolutely have to. But promise me that when I die, your eyes will remain dry."

Kuro was momentarily stunned. After a moment, he raised his voice. "What if I'm not strong enough?"

Schwarz gave a grim and mirthless chuckle. "I'll make you strong enough. At any rate, you're much stronger than I am."

Kuro, confusedly, looked up for the first time at his towering father's face, stunned as he saw a face covered in a sustained stream of tears and snot. "Papa…" Kuro held onto his father's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Promise me you'll become stronger than me. Promise me that no matter what happens, you can still come out relatively content. In your life, it's only your happiness that matters. Don't let anything get to you. You have a whole life ahead of you, anyhow."

The pressure of tears threatening to push out of his eyes abated, and his eyes remained dry. The mysterious man, all the while, was looking at the young boy.

I have to survive in the first place thought Kuro, determined to survive. Mourning comes later.

"You remind me of my son…" said the mysterious man. "Same height, same personality… and same will."

"Who are you?" asked Kuro. "And why did you save me?"

"Perhaps I was looking for a reason to survive or someone to protect, but whatever the case. You caught my eye. You remind me of myself in my younger days."

"Mister… what is happening? Why are battleships firing on the island? Are they pirates?"

"Some idiot with a doomsday button decided that this place was as good as any to die while taking as many people with him as possible."

A moment of silence passed as Kuro stared at the horizon listlessly.

"I want to survive." said Kuro. "I lost my remaining family today. My king rejected me and left me to die. I've been involved in someone else's madness. I just want out."

"You and me, pal." The man chuckled.

"You're fast."

"You could be, too," the man shot back.

"How…?"

Without another word, the man held Kuro by his shoulders and propped him at a certain position, patting his legs and feeling their firmness.

"Your physique is good. You seem to already grasp the crudest of the basics of Shave. I'll teach you my seventh transformation Shave stance. It will take you years before you perfect it, but currently, you could pull of at least a thousandth of its full power. That is already an explosive improvement."

"How?"

"Engrave this into your mind. There are three steps in total. The Silent Step, the Warping Speed and Heightened Thinking Pace, or HTP. The third step is generally the hardest and cannot be taught by conventional means. The three need each other to function, however. Without silent step, Shave becomes loud and whatever you step on will leave gaping footprints. Without warping speed, well, you won't truly be fast. The lynchpin is your thinking pace. You'll be nothing but a blind bat if you can't think at the same pace of which you're running."

Explosions were still occurring in the background. The dark night was being illuminated by the raging fires and explosions.

"Silent step follows a series of dance-like steps. I'll do it slowly."

The man danced around a little, taking care to make it so that Kuro understood the motions.

"Now you try."

After a series of failures, he finally got the steps down.

"You need to be able to do that ten times faster to approach Warping Speed. Train that series of steps until you can do them in your sleep. If you want to cut straight to Warping Speed, which most people usually do, try and kick off from the floor about ten times. Be sure to know where you are heading. Without HTP to guide you, you won't be able to think proportionally to your speed."

xXx

"Something seems wrong here, Vice Admiral Borsalino." said the rear-admiral as he looked at the fleeing ships.

Borsalino was currently smoking a cigar, a beany resting on top of his head. "I dunno… seems pretty normal ta me…" He pointed at one of the ships filled with refugees/ "Pew." A yellow beam exited through the tip of his finger, travelling instantaneously to the ship, burning a gaping hole through it. Consequently, an explosion occurred. "Bingo."

"Yer job ain't ta make yer own deductions. That snail was clicked for a reason. It ain't yer position ta dispute it. Ain't no ship leavin' here intact."

"Not even the royal vessel?" asked the rear-admiral with a hint of trepidation.

A grave voice came from the background. It was Sakazuki, one of the big three vice-admirals.

"Especially not the royal vessel. Goodness is frail and weak. Even a single seed of evil can destroy it. Therefore, in the name of absolute justice, there shall only be marine vessels floating here."

"Sir!" a voice came from behind. It was another trifling rear-admiral. "The Celestial Dragon Fleet has been fully vetted. According to the Cipher Pol agents, a single Cipher Pol Aigis Zero Agent remained in order to defeat a certain Grimmgol Krek."

Sakazuki grunted. "I bet it's Rob Lucca. No matter the case, the Buster Call was initiated for a reason. The barrage will continue until the break of dawn."

"T-there's more, sir." said the rear-admiral with a shaky voice.

"Speak."

The man leaned in and spoke with a hushed voice.

"According to the other Cipher Pol agents, it was Krek who initiated the Buster Call."

"Huh?" both Borsalino and Sakazuki were confused. "That can't be right. Only admirals and above have access ta the Golden Snail." Borsalino muttered.

"Either way," grunted Sakazuki. "As per protocol, we have cut off communications between us, Marineford and the Buster Call Deployment Base. There's no way to confirm this suspicion. The chance is too low for something like that to be the case. We shall continue."

Sakazuki turned around and approached the rear admiral who then began to salute. He held him on his shoulder, the heat almost scalding the poor subordinate's skin. Into his ear, he spoke: "I don't want you to spread any of this information. I will kill you and your entire family if you do."

"R-r-roger that, Vice Admiral Sakazuki!"

The heat turned down, and Sakazuki simply patted the man's shoulder before continuing over somewhere else, checking on his men.

"Hmm… it's about time we hit his majesty and his puny boat." Borsalino mumbled. "Ya know where ta aim!"

The men complied, aiming their cannons at the majestic-looking ship, The Frenchman.

"Pew."

Shells began dropping, all of them hitting their mark. Not even a plank remained as the entire ship combusted into black smoke, forever gone, along with most of its occupants.

xXx

The Kingdom of Allea was already fifty percent destroyed. And from the destruction zones, half of them didn't even have rubble or ruins, but simply dust.

Kuro was hopping around, rooftop from rooftop, attempting to use Warping Speed on its own, avoiding shells and training his own abilities. Hours had passed since his family had died, but it was still hours before morning.

Thus, all the pair did was evacuate outside of each shell's blast zones and pray that shrapnel wouldn't kill any of them.

Kuro was starting to get the hang of the Silent Step routine and he could do it fairly quickly. Warping Speed required pure muscular strength and agility, so there was no improving that within a short amount of time. As for HTP, that was a realm far beyond his understanding.

Occasionally, the man would turn his back on Kuro, cough and then dry his mouth, but there always seemed to be blood on his sleeve whenever he did, which somewhat worried Kuro. There was little time to address it, however, because the shells weren't letting up.

And thus, the night continued, explosion after explosion decimating the island over and over again, turning buildings into rubble, and rubble into dust, and dust into vapor. Soon, the sun was peeking over from the horizon, shining the first rays of light, signifying a new day. The barrage of shots had begun to let up.

All the fleeing ships had been thoroughly destroyed except for the World Noble's. Borsalino was sipping on a mug of black coffee, a lazy grin on his face. "Someone, snail me." He ordered. A subordinate took a step forward and handed him a baby transponder snail. He pressed a button and connected himself to the transponder snails of the other five vice admirals.

"Borsalino, reportin' for duty."

From the other end came a voice. "Vice Admiral Tsuru, here." a beautiful, but middle-aged voice sounded.

"Vice Admiral Sakazuki present."

"Vice Admiral Leafy," spoke an elderly man. "Let's hurry on with this, shall we? I was going to retire yesterday."

"..."

"Vice Admiral Kuzan, are you there?" asked Tsuru, slightly annoyed.

"...Yeah… just… sleepin'... *yawn*, I hate pulling all-nighters,"

"Great, now that everyone's present," began Sakazuki. "Initiate the Absolute Destruction maneuver. And thus, our job will be done."

"Roger that," said Borsalino.

"Understood," replied Tsuru.

"Understood," echoed Leafy.

"...Yeah…" said Kuzan.

"Initiating final launch in T-5 minutes. Get your men to work."

xXx

"Hey… kid." said Lucca. Kuro looked up and faced him.

"What?"

"Stand still."

Kuro complied.

As quick as lightning, Lucca began to jab Kuro with his finger gun. Five jabs to each of his forearms where the muscles controlling his fingers lay, eight to his abdominal muscles, two to each of his pecs, and more than ten times at each of the major muscles on his legs, the quads, hamstring, and calf muscles. The icing on the cake was… a knife-hand hitting every one of his major joints. His arms, shoulders, legs, and spine.

The series of movements seemed to have taken several seconds, but it only took a single second. Just enough to finish before he could cry in pain.

And finally came a single finger, jabbing at the nape of his neck, where his spine lay. The jab was a rather soft one, and it paralyzed him neck down, sending him sprawling onto the floor.

At the end, Lucca began to vomit blood. His face grew pale, and his hair began to turn gray. He was much shakier when he stood. Kuro stared at him from where he lay, dumbfounded.

"This is -urgh-, my legacy… I have imprinted my full knowledge of the six powers into your muscles. It's -cough-, up to you to exhume my secrets. I didn't -cough-... do this for you. If a part of me lives on and survives this ordeal, it can bring a semblance of peace into my… Lucci's heart."

"W-what are you saying?" Kuro began to grow frantic. "Are you dying?"

"Not yet, at least." Lucca began to laugh, eliciting another stream of blood out of his mouth. "I still haven't gifted you pandora's box…"

"What's going on? How are you doing this…?"

"It's… not Life Return… it's just the opposite. Life… Departure! Everything I have received from training… I will depart with it. It will kill me… but we are all destined to die… this is as good a place as any…"

"S-sir… you don't have to die for me…"

"Hah, Krek really did a number on me. I thought I could survive the Buster Call if I was careful… Absolute Destruction… I don't think I can properly resist that. Let this poor old man die so you can live. Don't be shackled to me. Just live."

With speed betraying his ruined state, he jabbed one finger directly into the poor boy's skull. It wasn't the entire finger, but a single claw grown from his devil fruit at the time. "This is it, boy… Life Departure!" and just like that, Lucca stabbed himself right in his brain.

Paper arts, Shave, Moonwalk, Tempest Kick, Finger Gun, Iron Body… and finally: Six King Gun!

All of this buried itself deep into the young boy's psyche, to be exhumed at a later date.

Just as the process ended, Lucca turned into a hybrid snow leopard in his largest form and punched a hole in the ground several hundred meters deep. He grabbed hold of Kuro and went down the hole, gently placing him on the ground before leaping out, kicking the ground next to the hole before sealing the hole with a ceiling. "Whether you survive Absolute Destruction… That's entirely up to the Gods. Whether you survive Pandora's Box… that's just up to you, little boy."

And thus, Lucca began to pace around, away from the hole and to the center of the island. His skills had deteriorated to a point of no return. He was on borrowed energy, and pain wracked his body like never before. Let alone conscious, he should have been dead, but Lucca's pride was too great for that.

His life would end, but only on the condition that he was awake to feel his immortal soul wrested away from his body.

Cross-legged, on a random spot on the island, Lucca opened his eyes as the sky was blotted out by billions of berries worth of munitions used up in a single fleeting moment. A single poem came to his mind.

"Three warriors sat cross-legged on the peak  
Of a mountain overshadowing the world  
The God of War asked a single question  
"How shall you die?"  
The two warriors answered in unison  
"In battle!"

As the God was prepared to write off such folly  
The third man spoke  
"How I live, I do know, but how I shall die  
I do not. What I do know  
Is that I shall die one day  
What I do then is up to my own whims

But I _will_ go gently into that good night  
At my own pace  
Because fighting for what I want in life  
Is the essence of being ."  
A warrior."

Seconds before the explosion, Lucca began to laugh at himself. It was a genuinely amused laughter. "Oh god…" he began to laugh. "I actually… don't know that kid's name… I also… forgot to introduce myself…"

And thus, everything became white. The Island of Aube, home to the great kingdom of Allea vanished in a blinding flash.

In the words of Rob Lucca himself, 'Smiling upon death is only limited those that were middle-named D and… the incurably mad.'

Was there ever truly a distinction between the two?

* * *

Ohmygawsh! Does Kuro survive?! Does Lucca die?! Find out in the next episode of Memoirs of the Future Pirate King.

I'm not a poet: the poem came from a friend of mine. I thought it was sorta nice, so I added it. He didn't want to be credited, but I didn't want to take all the credit, so I'm good just saying that this wasn't mine.

Please leave a review of what you thought about it.


	10. Chapter 9 - The Floating Restaurant

Chapter 9 - The Floating Restaurant

* * *

Kuro lay in his bed, still covered in bandages, twisting and turning at his dream.

"It's a fish!" Came the muffled cry from the deck. It was obviously Luffy's.

"The notorious sea restaurant," said both Johnny and Yosaku. The words barely registered in Kuro's sleep addled mind, partly due to the fact that it came from several walls away.

Kuro began to slowly open his eyes. First order of business: bodily examination.

Ribs, good condition. Fractures, all healed. Muscles, sore as all hell, but moveable. Face, no longer bloodied.

Kuro hobbled out of bed and did some stretches, using his body for the first time in days. He was wearing nothing but a pair of underwear that wasn't even his.

In his room was a single bed, some cabinets and a bookshelf. There was also a single paraffin lamp, but it was daytime, so it wasn't necessary just yet. Kuro went over to the cabinet, searching for some clothes to wear. What he found mortified him.

A few differently-colored bermuda shirts as well as some cargo pants, three-quarters and shorts. Because of a lack of better clothing options, he took a white bermuda shirt patterned densely with miniature red hibiscuses to the point where it was actually more red than it was white. As for pants, he decided to wear a jet black pair of three quarters. There was no hair gel, so he would have to forgo his usual slick-back.

And so, he walked out of his cabin and into the main deck. The view that greeted him was absolutely jarring. There was a massive ship themed like a fish where several smaller ships were docked. To the right was a marine ship with a hole in the middle, presumably from cannon fire. The men on-board seemed to be absolutely horrified, sweating and shivering like it was both hot and cold at the same time.

Kuro looked over at the entrance to the giant ship restaurant and headed there.

The four straw hat pirates were all sitting on a single table in the Baratie, a blond waiter swooning over the navigator. As soon as Kuro walked in, Luffy immediately perked up and started waving at his direction.

"Our butler's finally awake!" Luffy announced. The three other crew members glanced at the entrance where Kuro stood. Varying emotions showed themselves in each of their faces. Indifference from Zoro, discontentment from Usopp and a slight sense of worry from Nami. "Come on over. I know you're hungry!"

Kuro gave a half nod before making his way over to the table. The blond waiter dragged a chair out from an unused table and placed it on an empty part of the crew's table. Kuro gave a grateful nod before sitting down.

"How'd you like your new clothes?" Asked Luffy, still grinning.

"They're gaudy at best, to be honest -cough-, ehm, excuse me, waiter, but could I have a glass of water?" Kuro looked up to face the blond who had hair parted on his left eye. He glared at Kuro before explaining.

"The name's Sanji. I'm the sous-chef, not the waiter, so please refer to me as such. We're understaffed, you see. A glass of water coming up," the sous-chef retreated back into the kitchen, leaving the straw-hat members alone in one table.

Needless to say, the tension was palpable. A moment later, both Kuro and Luffy spoke up.

"I think-/So how-" Both of them paused before Luffy gave a nod and allowed Kuro the floor.

"I want to have a private chat with you, captain," said Kuro, his head resting on his hand.

"Sure," Luffy replied. "So… how do you feel?"

"I've been worse," replied Kuro. Just then, Sanji returned with a tray with a glass of water, two wine glasses and a bottle of wine on top.

"A glass of water to the one with the bermuda shirt," Sanji put the glass down right in front of Kuro.

Twitch.

"Why, thank you," Kuro gritted his teeth at the reminder that he was wearing that shirt. Without another word, Sanji took off to wait on another table where a marine with pink hair and a scar was on a date with this beautiful woman in a red dress.

From where Luffy and the rest were sitting, they could still here Lieutenant Fullbody give a detailed review of the wine he was drinking, right down to the orchard the grapes were picked at, and what star sign the farmer of those grapes was born in.

"Not even close," Sanji shot the man down without preamble, simply opting to put a spoon in the man's hand, telling him to enjoy his soup.

"Oh my fucking God, that didn't just happen!"

"Did he just… did Sanji just..?"

"Urgh…" One chef held his chest in actual physical pain. "The cringe…"

"To a fucking marine Lieutenant! Sanji really fuckin' did it!"

The chefs began to jeer and holler at Sanji's bravado and the patrons could hardly keep in their excitement at seeing a marine lieutenant getting called out in such a spectacular manner.

Just after, Sanji returned to our table for the third time.

"I suppose you must finally have found something suitable for your palates?" Asked the sous-chef. Nami began to hum.

"Mmhmm, this Chocolate Mousse seems really tasty. It's a shame it costs so much."

"YOU CAN HAVE IT FOR FREE!" Suddenly, Sanji gave up all pretense as a stoic and cool chef in favour of swooning over the navigator, turning into a hurricane of love as he spun around.

"Aww, thank you, darling." Nami gave an air-kiss, which turned Sanji into stone for a few seconds.

"Okay!" Usopp smiled widely. "I'd like fish and chips then, with some cola for free!"

Sanji immediately de-petrified and gave a cold glare to Usopp.

"All you others still have to pay. We're a business. We can't afford to give just anyone handouts."

Luffy smiled, undeterred. "Alright, then. I want some meat! I don't care how you make it. Surprise me. Just make sure it's a lot!"

"I'll just have some sake and onigiri," Zoro grunted.

"I'd like the seafood platter," said Kuro, still looking at his menu.

"Uhm, that's a three-course meal meant for three people."

"I'm hungry, sue me."

"Anything else?" asked Sanji before leaving. No one said anything. "If you'll excuse me."

As Sanji walked back into the kitchen, Luffy began to grin. "He's funny. We should ask him to join our crew."

"Idiot! You can't just ask anyone you want to join!"

"I'm the captain, so… yes, I think I can," replied Luffy, slightly annoyed.

"You can be an absolute-"

"WAITER!" Yelled someone from several tables away. Sanji came out of the kitchen and approached Fullbody, who seemed exceedingly enraged.

"I told you, I'm the sous-chef. What do you want?" he asked.

"What is this… this bug doing in my soup?" he said, pointing at the fly.

"I'm not an expert at swimming, but I'd say maybe the front crawl?"

In a fit of rage, Fullbody swung his fist down at the table, demolishing it. The whole soup spilled on Sanji's shoes.

"I am a paying customer! I chose to grace this floating pile of debris with my presence, and this is how you repay me? I should be getting all my meals for free!"

"I spent three days perfecting that soup. And you spilled it?" Sanji sucked into his cigarette violently, causing half of its remaining length to be reduced into ash. He blew the smoke into the air, forming a small cloud above his head. "I'll give you three words to apologize, and I might not fucking kill you."

"HOW DARE YOU-"

-O3O-

"I should yank all of your teeth out with a plier, so you'll never be able to sink your teeth into another meal again," Sanji spat furiously.

Currently, he was holding Fullbody up by his chin, his entire suit bloodied, and his nose broken.

"Your ship's cook is the only thing keeping you from starvation in the seas. Going against them… it's tantamount to suicide!"

"Did he just…?" Zoro asked, half amused and half surprised.

"Isn't he a marine…?" asked Usopp, puzzled.

"He could get a bounty," mused Nami.

"Awesome!" Luffy yelled. Just as a horde of chefs came and apprehended Sanji, preventing him from making another move, Luffy jumped up from his chair, pointed at Sanji and hollered: "Sanji, you should join my crew!"

"Get off me! Lemme at him, lemme-WHAT?! GO TO HELL, STRAW HAT!"

"Is this how you treat paying customers? If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, little egg plant. Get the fuck off my ship!" Boomed a voice that was just exiting the kitchen. He wore a comically high chef's hat, had a braided mustache that was nearly horizontal, shooting several inches from his face.

"Shut the hell up, ya sleazy geezer!" Sanji yelled. "I'll work here until the day you die. Who knows? Maybe you'll croak tomorrow-URGH" Suddenly, a peg-leg made its way right beneath the sous-chef's ribs. The peg-leg was attached to the same head chef that told the young chef off just moments ago. Sanji was at least three feet above the ground before falling, coughing a few times before standing up again.

"I still got a spring in my step. I'll outlive you for sure, the way you've been smoking since you were a seedling!"

"Wow!" Luffy was absolutely euphoric. "This restaurant just keeps on giving!"

"Lieutenant Fullbody! Emergency!" a marine suddenly burst into the restaurant, utterly terrified. The moment he saw the lieutenant's beaten and bruised form, he blanched. "W-what happened?" He asked.

"N-nebermi-d dat! Jusht tell be whad happud?!" Fullbody sputtered.

The marine swallowed his saliva before reporting. "The prisoner has escaped!"

"W-whad?! Imposhible! We habn't giben him food in, like, three daysh!" Fullbody retorted.

"Our current body count is three-!"

BANG

"Make that four," a low, serpentine voice seethed. A hole formed at the back of the poor marine's head, matching the one on the front. He fell down, expression blank.

Just like that, the entire restaurant's mood was soured. Luffy lost his grin, Zoro tsked in disapproval, Usopp blanched in fear while Nami grew uneasy. Kuro? He was sipping a glass of water, utterly unfazed.

One of the chefs, a man with a large chest and huge forearms approached the pirate with a furious expression. "WHO THE HELL DO YA THINK YOU ARE, KILLING IN THE RESTAURANT?!"

The culprit was a man wearing grey trackpants, a grey jacket with two curving dragons on each side on top of his green shirt. He had olive skin, sunken eyes and a wicked smile. His rifle hung from his right hand, lazily, his grip unsure.

"Oi… shut the fuck up," he drawled, pointing the gun lazily at Sanji before bringing it down, as though the weight of the gun itself was too heavy a burden. "Listen here. I need some food. Pronto."

Patty, the large-chested chef appeared in front of the killer, his 'service' face full force as he grinned stupidly while rubbing his hands together. "I suppose you have money to pay for the meal?"

He said nothing. He simply pointed his rifle on Patty's face, smirking. "Do ya take lead?"

"I'm afraid we only take green," Patty replied sourly. "You don't have any, do ya?" Without any forewarning, patty smacked the rifle out of the man's lazy grip, sending it bounding across the floor before grabbing him by his neck, lifting him up. "If you can't pay, then get the fuck out!" Patty threw the man several yards away, towards the entrance. He could do absolutely nothing but hobble away in fear.

"PATTY! PATTY! PATTY!" the entire kitchen-staff began to yell loudly as they showered the chef with adulation. All the while, Sanji stood in the background, an uneasy frown on his face.

"Shcrew dis!" mumbled Fullbody. "Men! Retreat!" He got on his feet with his men and his date before making haste for his ship.

Sanji simply retreated back into the kitchen and began preparations for a meal.

"That was some nasty business," Usopp pointed out. Nami nodded.

"Yeah… the guy's eyes were so… dead," said Nami.

Zoro had nothing to say. Kuro tilted his glass up, bottom facing the ceiling as he downed the last of the water. Before putting the glass gently on the table, he began to speak. "Gin the Olive Demon, First Division Commander of the Krieg Pirates, second strongest combatant after Don Krieg himself, worth four million berries."

"SAY WHAT?!" Both Nami and Usopp echoed. "H-he's f-from D-Don Krieg's f-fleet?!"

"Surprise, surprise," Kuro deadpanned. "It turns out that I do know a thing or two about the bounties of the East Blue. And here's random fact: He's top ten around here, ranked at nine. The Fleet must have hit some rough straits if their First Division Commander can't even grip a gun properly."

"..." Both Usopp and Nami still felt some apprehension when it came to their newly-gotten crewmate, something which Kuro sensed. With a simple sigh, Kuro stood up and left.

"If you'll excuse me," Kuro said as he went further into the restaurant until he was out of view from the rest.

"I still can't trust that guy," Nami said, crossing her arms, an unsure frown on her face.

"If you believe you have a future in this crew..." Zoro spoke up. The 'future' bit sent a sting right into Nami's heart. "...Just bite the bullet and accept it. None of us are saints, and he's no different." Usopp then replied in annoyance:

"None of us here are saints, that's right, but there's only one person among us who killed his crewmates in a fit of rage. Even objectively speaking, he's bad-" At this moment, Zoro punched the table, causing his fist to imprint on it lightly.

"Outside of regular banter and games, you ain't the captain. The straw-hatted oaf right over there is. Once you sail under his flag, you follow his rules. If you don't like it, there are plenty of other pirate crews. It's the golden age after all." This effectively shut Usopp up. Nami, too, was slightly intimidated by the First Mate's decisiveness in quelling internal disputes.

"Besides…" Zoro continued. "If it were up to me, not a single one of you would be here. A thieving witch and a liar?"

"HEY!"

-O3O-

Gin was currently outside, gazing at the ocean on the edge of the floating restaurant, his mind completely blank. Occasionally, his stomach would rumble, reminding him of his plight. Visions of a crescent kept on popping into his mind. That red crescent that would cut whole ships in half.

"The compass ain't working!" One of the navigators of the Krieg Fleet yelled in abject panic.

The waters of the Grand Line were currently in turmoil, dark clouds blotting out the sun as stray bolts of lightning smacked against the water surface, electrocuting fish and other ocean life. The waves were taller than buildings, threatening to swallow the lesser ships.

"None of them are working!" Another confirmed.

"WHAT?!" Don Krieg himself yelled in disbelief. "It must be the wiles of the Grand Line! It doesn't matter! We keep going until we find an island!"

Moments later as they sailed, they saw a small ship. It looked more like a raft than a ship.

*Heartbeat*

On the back of the raft, there was a crescent.

*Heartbeat, heartbeat*

In front of the crescent sat a single man.

*Heartbeat, heartbeat, heartbeat*

His eyes weren't sharp and imposing, but carried an enormous amount of condescension and arrogance. It was as though a horde of mice began to encroach upon a lion's den.

*Heartbeat, heartbeat, heartbeat, heartbeat*

They were unworthy. They knew. All of them. Even Gin did, but it took but a single man's arrogance to rustle the lion's den… that man was Don Krieg.

"It's just a single man! Our first victim! Show him the might of the Krieg Fleet!"

The man stood up from his seat. On his back was a curved sword.

*Clink*

"UAAAAH!" Gin screamed in absolute horror, causing Sanji to recoil. Sanji took a step back, gesturing towards the plate he set right next to the starving pirate.

"Easy there. Eat up." Sanji said as he took a seat at the railing. Gin stared at the food in disbelief. Tentatively, he reached for the plate. He touched it. He lifted it. He felt the warmth of the plate seep into his hands. He let go of one hand and touched his face, feeling the warmth of warm food. On it was a spoon. He reached for it, placed some food in his mouth and began to eat.

There was no illusion. This was all real. Unlike that dream with the crescent-sworded man… this didn't occur in the past. This was the present, and that's all that mattered.

Sanji began to hear sobbing noises. A grin began to form on his face. "It's tasty, right?"

"I-I-I…" Gin began to stutter, his mouth full and his eyes swimming in tears. "I've never tasted anything better!"

"Hah, thought so," Sanji smirked as he took a deep drag off his cigarette.

"You should join my crew!"

The voice appeared almost out of nowhere. Sanji looked behind, seeing the straw-hat wearing boy smiling widely, ear-to-ear.

"I already told ya to screw off, didn't I? You're ruining the moment," Sanji sneered.

Luffy ignored him as he continued to smile. "Come on! It'll be fun! You get to travel the world and achieve your wildest dreams!"

"So you're a dreamer, huh?" Sanji scoffed. "And I imagine you're going to become the greatest pirate in the East Blue, too, huh?" Sanji said in a bored tone.

"Nope."

"Come on, if you can't even do something that-"

"I'm becoming the pirate king," Luffy informed him, matter of factly. Sanji bit down on his cigarette harder than he intended to at the surprise of hearing such big words from someone like him. "I'm entering the Grand Line after this because that's where the One Piece is hidden!" Gin immediately perked up at the phrase 'Grand Line'.

He paused his eating as he stared listlessly ahead of him, his eyes completely hollow and without the light of life. He had already sworn to never even get a thousand paces close to that hell.

"Don't." Gin said.

Luffy turned to face the broken pirate, looking at him with a hint of concern in his eyes. "Huh?"

"I said don't. Not if you value your life. It's a death sentence. No man can ever live there… not with that… thing… that… crescent…!"

"Crescent?" Luffy mumbled. "The moon attacked you?"

"It… I still can't believe it…" Gin held grasped at his hair in terror just recalling his helplessness. "He… I know it sounds stupid, but… he sliced our ships apart… with a sword… no longer than a grown man…"

Luffy held his chin contemplatively. "It's a big sword, but considering its capability… it's nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure." He snapped his fingers and regained his optimistic smile. "Doesn't matter."

"What?!" Gin demanded.

"Doesn't matter. I'm going there anyway. If we happen upon that guy just like you did, then tough luck. That's as far as we'd go… but chances are we won't meet someone that strong just starting off."

"H-how do you figure?" Gin asked.

"Keep in mind that the Grand Line is fed by the waters of all the Blue Seas. North, East, West and South Blue. Grand Liners are, after all, just people from these blues or natives. They're not automatically stronger because they're from there. It's just circumstance that makes them strong, but not that strong as early into the Grand Line as that. It wouldn't make sense that something as fearsome as that 'crescent' guy you keep on talking about was a common occurrence. You, my friend, must have kicked a steel board by accident."

Sanji had to let out an impressed whistle. "You sure did your homework."

Luffy simply shrugged. "Knowing is half the battle."

"I-is that so…" Gin muttered. "I can't force ya to follow my advice. Just stay safe out there. It's hell."

Eventually, Gin finished his food and procured a lifeboat from the Baratie, provided by Sanji.

"I'm sorry if I get you into trouble!" Gin shouted as the small boat sailed away.

Sanji simply threw the plate and cutlery overboard before giving a light-hearted shrug. "There's no evidence," Sanji simply replied.

"Hahaha! I'll never forget you, Sanji!"

Eventually, only Sanji and Luffy remained.

"You're a fool, Straw Hat," Sanji mumbled. Luffy overheard him before chuckling.

"Hey, can't blame a guy for having dreams," Luffy quipped.

-030-

The crew reconvened at the Going Merry, still docked to the Baratie. Luffy and Nami were currently discussing matters pertaining to crew positions.

"The owner of the restaurant was fine with giving a chef to our crew. Considering that he was a former pirate, he most likely saw that as a favour to the younger generation," Nami mused.

"I already set my eyes on Sanji. He's joining us no matter what," Luffy said, determined to win.

"Speaking of Sanji, his relationship to the owner seems to be really rocky. Among all the chefs that I invited, all of them said no, and redirected me to Sanji. Even the owner wants him gone. He seems like trouble if you ask me," Nami reported.

"Nah. The owner obviously can't bear to stand witness to wasted potential," Luffy commented airily. "It might not seem like it, but they love him. They just don't want him to throw his life away for them. That's how much they love him."

"How do you figure?" Nami asked. Luffy simply shrugged.

"If they really wanted him gone because they didn't like him, I don't think Sanji could do much to resist a forced expulsion. It's more likely they're keeping him around because he has nowhere else to go." Luffy picked his nose absently. "Enough about that, though. Let's talk a little about Kuro."

"Still don't agree with-"

"Don't care," Luffy replied, his honesty grating. "His position in the crew, that's the topic. In order to ease your workload, we could make him the quartermaster. He was a former butler, so I don't doubt his ability with numbers."

"Luffy!" Nami yelled, outraged. "You're giving him the responsibility of distributing resources?! That's too much!"

"Honestly, Nami," Luffy pouted. "If we can't give him some responsibility, then how can we ever trust him? Just look at this as him being reborn. He's not the same guy. And as always, he won't make it far if he does decide to slit our throats in the middle of the night. He really won't." And with that, Luffy took off to his favorite spot on top of the goat's head.

* * *

A/N: Let me just address all the "OMG U ADDED KURO INTO THE MUGIWARA NO KAIZOKUDAN U FUCKIN IDIOT HE'S EVUL UNFOLLOWED AND UNFAVORITED" messages in one fell swoop. Trust me, I've gotten plenty by now, both through PM and review.

Let me start off by saying this: I don't give a flying goatfuck about what canon!luffy would have done. Canon!Luffy wouldn't have done this, Canon!Luffy wouldn't have done that, I DON'T GIVES A SHIT. This isn't canon!luffy. This is literally just another guy with the same name, but different experiences.

What's wrong with being magnanimous? Is there something wrong in being forgiving? Is it truly that off-character that Luffy can touch somebody's heart, even subtly? I didn't even go full Kishimoto and have him convert Kuro mid-fight, cuz that would be banal. Planting a seed of doubt can go miles.

Finally, to all you people who are having issues with parsing that Kuro became a crew member. I'm sorry. I don't blame you for being narrow-minded. If you like reading rehash fics that literally do nothing but give Luffy a new fruit, but all events and dialogue are literally word-for-word copied from canon, then go somewhere else. If you like reading fics that diverge right after Grand Line entry, go. Somewhere. Else. If you have a problem with methods and strategy, instead wanting to read mindless fighting sequences straight outta DBZ, go somewhere else. For my sake, please.

Yeah, rant over. Finally: I wish to say this. This fic will not die. I am banking all of my work-ethic and willpower that this story might represent my unwavering work ethic. To do that, it will have to continue for a while. I'm trying to prove to myself that I can, indeed, write something above 100k words. If I can do that, be sure that I won't drop this fic.


	11. Chapter 10 - Night Of Power

Chapter 10 - Night Of Power

* * *

In the dead of night, Nami was still awake. Usually, a navigator's job was all consuming, and as such, sleep was something kept to a minimum. The Going Merry was docked, however, but still she remained awake. She shone her paraffin lamp on the bounty poster that Johnny and Yosaku had thrown into the air. The image of that poster was that of a blue-skinned man with a long chin and a sharp and narrow nose with serrations.

Saw-Teeth Arlong, Captain of the Arlong Pirates. Oppressor and Nami's long-time tormentor.

She glared daggers at the poster. "All good things come to an end eventually," She whispered. "I'll… tomorrow morning I'll… I'll steal the ship and sail back home. The hundred million should be secured then… Just wait, Nojiko… Genzo… Bellemere."

O3O

"IT'S THE KRIEG PIRATES! EVERYBODY RUN!"

The straw hats were once again enjoying lunch in the Baratie when the sudden yell of alarm came. Johnny, Yosaku and Nami were still on the Going Merry.

The restaurant was absolutely chaotic as scores of customers rushed out of the restaurant in a mad frenzy, scrambling to board their ships before taking off.

Luffy and his crew still remained.

Usopp was assessing his rounds with his goggles.

Zoro eyed the blade of his sword.

Kuro's fingers tapped against the table rhythmically with one hand, the other pulling back his hair.

Luffy was simply grinning.

"You guys up for a fight?" Asked the captain.

"You know it," Zoro smirked.

"I'll bathe in their blood," Kuro said nearly inaudibly, though everyone heard him. Usopp swallowed his saliva.

"If it comes to that," he said. "Aye… co-captain."

Luffy's grin widened and for a short instant, a glint of blood-thirst encompassed his face, but it was quickly snuffed out.

The door opened. The inside of the restaurant was chock-full of chefs armed to the teeth with all sorts of lethal kitchen apparati.

Gin hobbled in, with a burly man on his shoulder. The man was at least twice his weight, had a huge upper-body relative to his legs, a coat as well as purple hair.

"W-where's Sanji?" called Gin out. The chefs simply grunted and growled, disregarding his words, until one darkly dressed blond chef made his way through the crowd. A cigarette rested lazily on his lips as he raised his one visible eyebrow at the pitiful sight of the one he fed.

"What's the matter?"

"I-it's my captain! He hasn't eaten in ten days!" Gin called out desperately.

"H-help…" A wheeze came out of Krieg. Gin quickly looked at his captain with anguish in his face.

"Don't talk… save your strength!"

Sanji, without a word, simply turned around and headed for the kitchen, but was blocked by a barricade of chefs standing shoulder to shoulder, casting nasty glares at him. At the front was Patty.

"Sanji, you're goddamn jellyfish, aren't you?" Patty growled. "So brainless you can't even recognize-"

"Don Krieg?" Sanji finished. All of the cooks gasped.

"So you knew!"

"You were still gonna feed him?!"

"You goddamn traitor!"

Sanji simply sighed. "Oi… let me through."

"Sanji, that's enough," Patty barked. "If you think I haven't seen you feed the customers I turned away, then you really are a brainless jellyfish. Those times, saying who was right or who was wrong was a real hassle, so I left it. But what if I told you that man is currently worth 17 million berries? What if I told you his nickname is 'Foul Play' Krieg and that he got it from sheer trickery? WHAT IF I TOLD YOU HE COULD BE FAKING HIS STARVATION?!"

Sanji drew a breath from the cigarette and blew a cloud on Patty's face, eliciting a few coughs. "I'm not an idiot. He must have eaten a couple of days ago, but he's still hungry. That's all I need to know."

"Even if you're to doom this entire restaurant?!" Patty fumed.

"I'll kill him before he does that," Sanji growled. "Now, let me through!"

A cacophony of gun cocking sounded, reverberating around the room. Sanji was circled by dozens of chefs all pointing their guns at him.

"Don't make us hurt you."

"Just back off. We'll deal with this."

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

Sanji scowled.

"You-"

Clink

The sound of a plate tapping the floor echoed around the room, drawing everyone's gaze at the elderly head chef placing a plate filled with food in front of the prone pirate captain. With new vigor, Krieg quickly began to stuff himself with the food on the plate, and in almost half a minute, the plate was empty.

Krieg stood up, feet taller than the Head Owner. He pulled his arm back and whipped it at the head owner.

Zeff simply eyed the pirate captain, disgust written on his face. Before attempting to defend himself, someone else had come to his rescue.

A tall, dark-haired man wearing a blue bermuda shirt stopped the momentum of his arm with one hand, eyeing him fiendishly. Krieg's eyes widened as he looked at Kuro.

"K-Kuro…? The man of a thousand plans? Kuro, the black cat of death?!" Krieg swallowed fiercely. "Y-you're supposed to be dead! Executed by a firing squad!"

"And you're supposed to be sailing the East Blue like the guppy you are," Kuro scoffed. "Strongest man in the world? You aren't even the strongest man in the room."

"Oooh," A chef muttered.

"Worldstar."

Krieg's veins grew more prominent as he bared his teeth in anger. He went for a punch at the man, but noticed that no one was there to punch. Then, he felt the blade of a knife resting on his throat, and Kuro's cold breath on the nape of his neck, sending a chill down his spine.

"Good night."

"CAPTAIN!" Gin yelled as he was about to intervene, only to have a group of chefs pin him to the ground.

"Stop!" Luffy interrupted. Kuro was just about to slit the man's throat, but paused obediently, letting the immaculately-dressed straw-hatted youth approach. Luffy pulled up the brim of his straw hat, grinning at the terrified man.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Monkey D. Luffy. I'm going to become the future pirate king. That's all you need to know."

The chefs gasped at his casual proclamation but were even more confused by the revelation of Kuro. Krieg's eyes darted around, confused.

"W-what the fuck is going on? Kuro, this kid is saying he's going to be the future pirate king, and you're just letting him? Aren't you the captain?"

Kuro scoffed. "I'm not even the first mate. That's the power of the boy before you." Luffy chuckled, grinning mischievously.

"Alright, Don Krieg. I only have one question. What happened? To your fleet, that is?"

Krieg spat at Luffy's direction. With a bend of his neck, he avoided the ball of saliva expertly, his grin not wavering even slightly. "Why would I tell you?"

"Just to satisfy my morbid curiosity. While I do like surprises, I'm not keen on leading my crew to certain death, if you catch my drift."

"I don't have anything to say to you. Kuro, let me go!" Krieg threatened to struggle, but Kuro only pulled the knife closer, drawing a small line of blood trickling down his throat. Krieg swallowed, now sweating.

"By the time you could reach for any weapon, I'd have slit your throat tens of times in quick succession. You can't best me in speed," Kuro threatened.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell! I'll tell!" Krieg swallowed again. "It was a… it was a pesky devil fruit user… he shot columns of… pure force straight out of his scimitar… he cut our entire fleet down, chasing us through the grand line for an entire week!" The entire room gasped. The chefs were absolutely horrified. "He had… he wore a beige turban with a purple diamond on the front. His… his clothes were… baggy… and those eyes…. Those eyes… Those eyes!" Krieg began to struggle wildly. Kuro frowned.

Slit

"CAPTAAAAIN!" Gin yelled in grief. "YOU MONSTER!"

Blood cascaded out of Krieg's throat, pained gurgles signifying his pain. He fell to his knees, staring hatefully at the straw-hatted young man whose grin was now a solemn frown. That frown was the last thing he saw before falling down, the blood draining into the floor boards.

Luffy turned around to face Zoro, whose eyes were fierce. "That him?" Luffy asked.

"The description fits… Mustafa Ali… reputed to be the strongest swordsman alive…"

"'Reputed'," Luffy echoed. Before Zoro could comment on that, a loud cry sounded from outside.

"Guys!" A chef yelled from outside as he pointed at the massive galleon parked outside the Baratie. "There's about a hundred starving pirates in there!"

"THEN WE'LL FEED THEM!" Zeff's voice boomed throughout the restaurant.

"What?! Owner, they're dangerous!"

"Their captain was about to pull a fast one on you!" another chef shouted.

"YOU GUYS LACK HEART!" Zeff shouted. "NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND THE HORROR OF STARVING TO DEATH AT SEA! NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND THE CRIPPLING WEAKNESS THAT OVERCOMES A PERSON WHEN THEY HAVEN'T HAD THE LUXURY OF EVEN A SINGLE BITE OF BREAD!" Zeff took a breath. "Sanji… Sanji knows. You don't have the right to reprimand him about that. Either you get to cooking the food or I will."

Without leaving any room for rebuttals Zeff entered the kitchen, leaving the stupefied chefs outside to clean up the bleeding corpse of the now-departed Foul Play Krieg. Gin was tied up like a bagworm, only able to move like a caterpillar. He inched his way closer to Krieg and rested his head on the man's back, tears flowing out of his eyes.

"I… failed you… I failed you… I failed you!"

Kuro looked down at the 'Olive Demon' in utter disgust, like he was dogshit on the sidewalk. "Should I put him out of his misery?"

Luffy shook his head slowly. "No. And…" Luffy was about to continue but stopped himself midway. "Nevermind."

Kuro's face bore a trace of… hurt? Kuro gestured at Krieg's corpse with a light flick of his head "Captain. If his death bothered you-"

Luffy interrupted him. "I won't lie to you, it did bother me. Pushing my morals and values onto you is also something I don't want to do, since it's illogical. If this is how you roll, then so be it. All I request is to try not to kill when there's a friend to be made… Good job, nonetheless."

Kuro nodded, pushing his glasses up with the base of his palm. "I understand."

"Yosh!" Luffy shouted. "Alright, that ended quickly-"

Tempting fate was never a good idea to start with. A loud slicing sound was heard from outside, and before they knew it, the giant galleon that was the last remaining Krieg ship began to sink, bisected from the middle. Large waves erupted from the ship.

"LIFT THE ANCHOR!" One of the chefs yelled. "LEST WE GET SUCKED INTO THE VORTEX!"

Luffy ran out. "THE MERRY!" he yelled. Both Johnny and Yosaku stood at the deck, flabbergasted by the situation. "LIFT THE ANCHORS!" Luffy ordered. The two bounty hunters quickly got to work and rolled the anchor up as the bisected galleon began to make tidal waves.

Luffy quickly looked at the massive galleon and noticed the clean bisection along the middle. "Someone… cut it?" Luffy was puzzled. Zoro, by his side, was awestruck.

Kuro looked towards a patch of the ocean that wasn't disturbed by the waves at all, completely still. A boat lay on that patch. The boat was a small one, barely ten cubic meters in area. It was more of a raft than a boat, but the detail on it was astounding. On the boat sat Mustafa Ali, right in front of the crescent-shaped mast. He wore an Arabian-esque outfit consisting of a baggy shirt and pants, a loose white sash around his waist, and in the middle of his turban was an amethyst. A large scimitar was strapped to his back. Even for a swordsman of his caliber, he was exceedingly handsome, with a black beard closely shaved, contouring his sharp chin and contrasting his olive skin.

His lazy eyes moved quickly. For even a split second, Kuro could feel Ali's eyes land on him, sending a slight shiver down his spine, before his eyes went to rest on somebody else.

Kuro scowled in abject terror. "One of the Seven Warlords of the Seas are here… Mustafa 'Night of Power' Ali…. worth… half a billion berries…"

The people still on the galleon were holding onto the ship as it began to capsize, praying to whomever would listen for survival. Luffy watched the events unfold, mouth wide open.

"He cut it!"

Ali's boat sailed further inward, his face utterly devoid of emotion, almost bored. As the boat came closer and closer to the Baratie, the tension rose gradually, until he was just a stone-throw away from the floating restaurant.

The majority of the chefs not working in the kitchen to prepare the meals for the starving pirates were outside on the deck, nervously grasping the railing. The straw hats were in the crowd of chefs, awestruck by the sheer show of strength. Even Luffy was still gaping at the sheer scale of his strength. Even when his grandfather would dog him about how strong his 'granddaddy' is, although the scale of power was similar, the danger factor was toned down on account that he was his flesh and blood. Luffy honestly never expected someone this strong this early.

Once the handsome swordsman was done scanning the surroundings, he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Where is... the donkey?" He spoke with an accent that Luffy had never heard, rolling his 'r's and pronouncing his 's's as 'z's.

Zeff stepped out of the restaurant and faced the swordsman, proudly.

"If you're referring to Don Krieg, he was already killed."

"Oh?" Ali smirked lightly. "And… may I see the man with the testicular fortitude to steal my kill?"

Kuro took an unconscious step forward. "It was I." He could only hope that no calamity could befall his crew.

"In my… home country, there is a punishment for stealing… 'The hand you used to steal another's property shall be severed'. Show me the hand you used. Don't worry. I shall let you go after this. It will be quick."

Kuro swallowed, but he complied as he shakily brought his hand up. As quick as lightning, Ali sent out a wind-blade with the dagger that was holstered to his left. The motion was so quick, it didn't even look like he moved a muscle. Just before the wind-blade arrived, Zoro intercepted it, dissipating it with great difficulty.

Ali began to laugh. "Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter of the East Blue? You're quite high on my list of East Blue combatants…"

"I'm flattered," Zoro replied flatly. "That you know my name, and that you think so highly of me."

"And just for that, I'll slice this entire ship in half." He mentioned, humorlessly, obviously peeved by the sarcasm. He pulled out the large scimitar on his back, and slashed vertically, creating a thirty-meter tall column of pressurised air blasting towards the Baratie.

Clack

The sound of wood hitting wood rung through the air right before a burly figure with a long chef's hat jumped into the air and swung his peg-leg straight at the incoming wind-blade. Luffy could have sworn that the peg leg turned black the instant it swung. Had he only been conscious of it going to happen, he could have locked onto it and assessed it further.

Zeff did a three-point landing as a competing blast of pressurised air dissipated Ali's, much to his boiling fury, not that he'd let it show on his face.

"Crouching dragons and hidden tigers, eh?" Ali seethed.

"Actually," Zoro interjected. "It's 'crouching tigers and hidden dragons'."

All the chefs celebrated at the owner's show of strength, now happy that they would survive this ordeal.

"Roronoa Zoro… do you seek to become the greatest?" He asked. Zoro wasn't taken aback at all by the non-sequitur, and without missing a beat, he replied.

"Without a doubt. I do, however, acknowledge my current weakness, so I guess I'll catch you at a later date."

Ali smirked. "Hah, funny. I want to… teach you a couple of things. Won't you let your upperclassman school you?"

"As much as I'd love to, becoming the greatest requires being alive for it to happen," Zoro deadpanned.

"Don't worry, I'll treat you well enough," Ali muttered before disappearing, reappearing again right behind Zoro, in the middle of the crowd he was in. The dagger that he almost used to sever Kuro's right hand was pointed Zoro's back.

"Dead," Ali said in a sing-song manner. His sudden appearance caused the crowd to clear the ground for him. Kuro was about to step in, but Luffy held him back just in time. He gave the quartermaster a shake of his head. "It's his fight," Luffy muttered. Zoro, wide-eyed, turned around, unsheathing Wado. Just as his sword was going to cut through Ali, he disappeared again, appearing behind him, the dagger's tip now resting at the swordsman's throat. "Dead again."

"Always be aware of your surroundings. Maintain a three-sixty degree awareness. Use all of your senses." Ali explained as he warped around the confused swordsman. "All of them: Sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, and one more…" Ali said in a mystical tone. Zoro was now fully equipping his three swords, whirlwinds spinning around the hysterical swordsman.

"You look to be twenty… nineteen? When I was your age, I could slice steel. You can barely slice rocks, can you?" Ali mocked. "You're just too… weak!" he declared, lodging the dagger into Zoro's chest. Instead of retreating, Zoro stood there, glaring daggers at the swordsman.

"Why are you not retreating? Are you that petrified?" Ali mocked. Zoro chuckled, causing him to cough blood.

"No… I don't think I can. Stepping back would be like… simply shouting that all of my efforts have been a waste."

"They have, my friend. This is a phenomenon known as defeat. Step back and live, you imbecile," Ali muttered, rather testily.

"No… I think I'd rather…" Memories of Kuina rose from within. From his two thousand losses, her unfair attitude and her overwhelming skill. Then of Morgan, the corrupt marine officer and his despicable son. Then, the straw-hatted oaf that he had come to serve. His tall tales of the Grand Line were a wonder to hear. Suddenly, he realized something. 'Rather die?' He thought. He shook his head. "I'd rather win." He said, using Ali's distraction to land a surprise attack, stabbing Wado's tip into the swordsman's gut, drawing blood. Ali took a step back, looking at his shirt and how there was a hole in it. The attack just barely managed to pierce his skin, but once it met with the resistance of his abdominal muscles, it might as well have been trying to poke a needle through a block of iron.

"Bad manners, my pupil. You attacked a teacher while in the middle of a lecture." Zoro was simply laughing. "What's… what's so funny?" Ali asked, slightly confused.

"For all your strength, you still took the step back when I stabbed you. I guess that's the difference between our resolves."

Ali was now absolutely furious. Sheathing his dagger, he went for the scimitar on his back, pulling it out gracefully. "My beautiful Layl… I only reserve it for those who have impressed me… and those who simply piss me off…" Looking straight into Zoro's eyes, Ali began to frown. "I can hardly classify you into one of those groups. Whatever the case… there's no doubt that with your resolve…. You might surpass me… I better simply… pluck the bud before it grows into a weed."

Zoro grew alarmed, readying his swords for his strongest attack, Three Sword Style: Three Thousand Realms!

For Zoro, it was everything.

For Ali, it was barely a tenth.

Yet, upon impact, Zoro's two swords on his hands shattered, leaving only Wado behind as a viable weapon. A deep gash ran across Zoro's torso, from his right shoulder to his left hip, blood pouring out of it, drenching his shirt. He was barely even able to stand, yet he turned around and faced Ali, arms spread.

"Smart man. Never let it be said that Roronoa Zoro died with a scar on his back, eh? If only to ease my mind, you shan't live to see another day." Ali went in for a decapitation. Just before the blade struck, it was stopped by a small dagger. The one holding it wore a red shirt and a straw-hat, carrying a deadly frown. The strike wasn't Ali's strongest so Luffy was able to deflect it without much difficulty. Without another word, Zoro collapsed, bleeding. Ali looked at Luffy with contempt.

"And… who might you be?" He asked.

"Monkey D. Luffy. You tried to kill my first mate. I guarantee you that it will be over my dead body." Luffy informed him in a flat tone. Ali's expression froze for a moment.

"Monkey D. Luffy?" Ali began to grin wider and wider. In an instant, he warped in front of Luffy, too fast for him to react. Ali bear-hugged Luffy, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Hahah! It's you! I've heard so much about you! To think you actually set out to seas! Master's friend will be absolutely elated!" Ali looked at the bleeding Zoro. "Tell you what, I'll let everyone go! Just for you! And, may I say that you have a knack for picking crewmates? Kuro of a thousand plans and Roronoa Zoro? Don't worry about your friend, though. The wound was relatively shallow. With proper medical care, he'll live."

Luffy was absolutely stunned. "What?"

"Oi… Zoro!" Ali yelled. Zoro turned around from his stomach-first position, now lying on his back, looking up at Ali.

"What?!" He coughed some blood.

"Who is the strongest swordsman in the world?"

"I-I just fought him," Zoro replied, smirking.

"You did not."

The words caused Zoro's veins to freeze.

"The strongest swordsman could slice that galleon with but the flick of a kogatana. He would leave no openings, no matter how much it looks so. The strongest swordsman in the world… let me just say that… in terms of skill level, you are to me, what I am to him. If you want to be the strongest, you need to go through him, not me. Your road is a long one. You best start your training the moment you recover. If you're on Luffy's crew, you should do at least that much."

Everyone was frozen.

Just before the boat was to leave for good, Ali furled the sails temporarily, stood up and turned around to face the Baratie. "Remember his name! The name of the Strongest Swordsman in the World! The rival of one of the four emperors! Dracule 'Hawk Eyes' Mihawk!"

Zoro coughed up some more blood before grinning.

Kuro's mind was working overdrive, trying to recall any information about the pirate that was mentioned. Literally everyone else's eyes were bulging out of their eye-sockets, except for Zeff, and Zoro, because he was almost unconscious.

Currently, a multitude of cooks were tending to Zoro's wounds, treating it with clear spirit, cleaning it as best as they could before performing an impromptu suture. All the while, Zoro grasped at his sword, eyes resolved.

"Hey-urgh- Luffy!" Zoro coughed some blood. Luffy immediately snapped out of his daze and rushed to his first mate's side.

"Don't worry, Zoro! We'll get you fixed up in no ti-"

"It's -UGH- not that… I… will… be… the greatest…!" Zoro began to grasp his handle feverishly, unable to muster the strength to lift it up. "I swear…. I'll… never… lose… again…" Finally, Zoro managed to point his sword towards the sky. "I swear it!"

Luffy laughed heartily, giving an encouraging smile. "There was never a doubt in my mind!"

Finally, the two bounty hunters got off from the Merry and rushed towards Luffy, tackling him.

"BROTHER LUFFYYYY!"

"EMERGENCY!"

They both cried as they grappled Luffy furiously.

"WHAT?!" Luffy snapped, trying to force them away from him.

"Sister Nami pulled a fast one!" Yosaku whined.

"She escaped with all of your treasure on a small sail-boat!"

Luffy froze, his mind speeding up as he began to piece together everything. The village, the way she disliked talking about the future and all these other blips that would show up during conversations that only Luffy would notice. Despite what she would have it, Luffy did indeed notice them all.

He knew that she would one day return, but didn't expect for it to happen so abruptly.

"Got any leads?" Luffy asked, his voice not leaving any room for nonsense. His harsh tone was enough to scare away the bounty hunting duo, scrambling away on all fours before sitting down a few yards away.

"She never told us where she was going!" Johnny reported. Yosaku was pondering as Luffy kept pressing them.

"Do you know what she might be doing? Anyone she might be wary of?" Luffy continued. Yosaku's proverbial light-bulb shone more brilliantly than ever before as he got an idea.

"Maybe she forgot to turn off her stove?" Yosaku provided.

BOINK

"YOU IDIOT!" Both Luffy and Johnny simultaneously bonked the idiot's head. The headgear did nothing to protect him as two large bumps began to grow from his head. "You're a real moron," Johnny lamented, holding his forehead in disappointment.

"I'm a moron?" Yosaku repeated dumbly. Suddenly, he was onto something. "A moron… moron… Mormon? HEY LUFFY I REMEMBERED!" Yosaku exclaimed. "NAMI IS HUNTING A MORMON!"

Both Luffy and Johnny gave him incredulous looks. "...but why?" they both asked in unison.

"I'm not sure… all I know was that she was holding his bounty poster in a weird way, almost… hatefully," Yosaku provided.

"Wait," Luffy raised up a hand. "A bounty? What was the guy's name?"

"I dunno," Yosaku murmured. "His epithet was… a carpenter's tool, and something about dentistry… then his name being something about him being long? Is Long, I think?" Yosaku muttered.

"Great!" Luffy replied sarcastically. "That leads us nowhere-"

"WAIT!" Johnny exclaimed. "A mormon… his name… Is Long… a mormon named Is Long….Is… Are? Are Long…? ARLONG!" Johnny exclaimed, then suckerpunched Yosaku right on the cheek, causing a tooth to fly. "You waste of a perfectly good sperm cell, you are the most incompetent bounty hunter this side of the red line!"

"Explain," Luffy said, confused by the epiphany.

"His name is Arlong. Saw-teeth Arlong… He's a Fishman, not a merman, and especially not a Mormon!" Johnny was tempted to raise his hand against the bleeding Yosaku, who flinched in fear. In an act of pity, Johnny simply retracted his hand. "He's worth twenty million berries. Quite literally the biggest fish in these parts."

"Location?" Luffy asked.

"In the Conomi Island chain south-east of here," Johnny replied. "Pretty close actually… about two hours away."

"Good enough. I want at least one of you to accompany Kuro over there! Take the merry with you. I'll be there as soon as I can, with Usopp," Luffy declared. Both Johnny and Yosaku stood up and saluted.

"AYE!" They both shouted, but moments later, they began to sweat bullets. "Y-y-you m-mean… w-we take… him… with us?" Johnny began to sputter.

Luffy crossed his arms and gave a determined nod. "You two are the best bounty hunters this side of the red line, right?" Luffy asked. "Or maybe, that was an exagg-"

"I wouldn't call us 'the best'" Johnny's voice was drowned out by Yosaku's excited howling. "WE ARE THE GREATEST BOUNTY HUNTERS, OF COURSE WE'LL GET IT DONE!"

"Hah!" Luffy smiled. "Awesome. I trust you guys," he turned around to call Kuro over, giving him his orders.

To his surprise, the moment Luffy called his name, he appeared almost instantaneously in front of Luffy, causing the straw-hatted youth to grin at his efficiency.

"Ride the Merry along with the bounty hunters, and find Nami."

"What happened…?" Kuro asked, scowling. For all of his blood-thirst, Nami was still the one who tended to him while he was in that pitiful state of being unable to get up from his bed. Needless to say, Kuro couldn't _not_ n feel attached to her in some way.

"She ran away… But she's my navigator, and I'm not letting her go just like that. Whatever issue she has to resolve, help her. I'll be there soon," Luffy explained.

"A deserter?" Kuro seethed, baring his teeth. "I'll-"

"No, Kuro," Luffy intoned sternly. "You are not to harm her. She's still a crewmate. Now go," Luffy ordered. With a nod of his head, Kuro disappeared and reappeared on the merry, where both Johnny and Yosaku were preparing the sails.

Now, with that done, he cast another glance at his swordsman, now bleeding less as the impromptu stitch-work sealed his gaping wound, and was being dressed.

Luffy still had things to do before leaving. Looting Krieg's corpse (the guy had to be loaded, considering his reputation), milking some more information out of Gin, and last, but definitely not least, would be recruiting Sanji. That guy still hadn't given up on refusing him. As Luffy entered the restaurant, a thick stench of perspiration struck him.

The interior of the restaurant was covered with starving pirates rescued from the bisected galleon, all lying listlessly on the floor. Even those who were eating still couldn't absorb the energy fast enough, remaining in a lethargic state.

Sanji was there, running in and out of the kitchens, delivering food to the starving pirates with utmost haste, juggling tens of dirty plates at once. Even Usopp was helping, doing the best he could, too. The moment he spotted Luffy, he glared daggers at him.

"Make yourself useful, straw hat! Otherwise, get lost!" Sanji once again disappeared into the kitchen. Luffy simply shrugged, following him.

About half an hour was spent feeding the starving pirates, Luffy helping in any way that he could.

Finally, once all the pirates were well-fed, resting their weary bodies, both Luffy and Sanji fell on the floor, back to back, panting.

"Wanna join my crew?" Luffy attempted.

"No," Sanji replied without missing a beat, raising an unlit cigarette to his lips.

A faint chuckle could be heard from the background, drawing Sanji's attention. It was the tied-up Gin, sitting cross-legged with his back against the wall. Krieg's corpse had already been moved away from the restaurant, much to his continued grief.

Sanji looked up at a passing chef.

"Hey, Randy," he called out. The chef turned around.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Did you guys give him any food?" Sanji flicked his head towards the cackling Gin. The chef shook his head.

"He refuses to eat. Poor guy's still grieving," Randy laughed while explaining. Sanji gave a short hum, and the chef continued on his way.

"Hehehehehe…" Gin continued chuckling. Sanji gave him an annoyed look.

"Shut up," Sanji muttered.

"...No… hehe… idea…what's…. Coming…" Gin said in between chuckles. Luffy gave him a sidelong glance.

"Nothing is, idiot. Your crew is lying all over the floor, sleeping," Luffy said, arching an eyebrow. Gin simply shook his head slowly.

"We've got… enemies… Don Krieg's worth… 17 million… people are after him…. But now… they'll… be… after… you lot."

Sanji arched an eyebrow. "Small fries, worth a dime a dozen. Ain't nothin' to piss your pants at," Sanji waved it off.

Gin shook his head, this time more feverishly.

"The Eastern Piracy Alliance… they're after him… them's twenty crews… fifty ships combined… we'll share… a watery grave…"

Sanji gave him a scowl. "We'll see about that-"

"PIRATE FLEET INBOUND!" Someone from outside shouted. Usopp ran into the restaurant, eyes darting around before finding Sanji and Luffy sitting on the floor back to back. The moment his eyes fell on his captain, he made a beeline for the teen.

"Luffy! There are about fifty ships on the horizon converging in on the Baratie!" Usopp shouted.

"I'm tired," Luffy yawned. "You take care of it." Luffy pointed at Usopp. Usopp raised a shaky hand as he pointed at himself.

"M-m-m-me?" Usopp stuttered. Luffy nodded.

"Did you check any of Krieg's gear?" Luffy asked. Usopp shook his head.

"What? Of course not! He's dead, that's disrespectful!" Usopp sputtered. Luffy simply laughed.

"It won't do him any good where he's going. Might as well take it all."

A cannonball fire could be heard from outside.

"Better think of something quick, Usopp. I'm staying put. It's time to test your mettle." Luffy said. He then turned his head. "Make sure our sniper doesn't die out there, Sanji," Luffy ordered. Sanji blew a cloud of smoke.

"You know you're really fucking irritating, straw hat," Sanji muttered. "I won't join your crew no matter how much you'll ask me."

"I refuse your refusal, then," Luffy shot back.

"Ahh…" Sanji sighed. "Can't be bothered to verbally spar with the likes of you," Sanji said as he stood up, hands in his pocket as he walked outside of the restaurant to gaze at the converging pirate ships. Without a back to lean on, Luffy simply laid down, staring at the ceiling.

"Oi Usopp, you don't have to fight them directly. Use those tricks you tried on me that one time," Luffy advised. Usopp gave a shaky nod as he too walked outside.

"I-I guess… I-it's time t-to show what I-I'm made of…" Usopp stuttered. Luffy just smiled.

"Trick 'em good," Luffy said. Usopp steeled his resolve.

"Will do!"

* * *

I've got so much in store. I really don't have that many words for you currently. I guess this semi-regular release speed can attest to how I've finally started taking this seriously.

I won't quit.


End file.
